Amnesia
by DemonoftheRoundTable
Summary: Ruby suffers a serious injury after her and her team fight off hordes of Grimm. How will she and her team react to her loss of memory? Will she regain what she has lost, or be forced to start over? Story may be deleted and reposted later on.
1. Chapter 1

A pained cry of a dying Beowolf filled the sky's as the Huntresses in training carved a path of destruction through the Grimm ridden forest. Team RWBY had been assigned a mission to clear out the potential threat. There wasn't that many. In all honesty, have all four of the team members working on this seemed like it was too much. But better safe than sorry.

"This is too easy!" Shouted Yang. The boisterous blonde had a fun time with the few poor Grimm that were caught in her way. Punching one, sending it flying back to crash into its brothers in a fiery display of dominance. "I wish Ozpin would have given us a challenge."

"Shut up, Yang!" Shouted Weiss, "He's probably watching. If he is and heard that then we _will_ get something much harder!" She wasn't wrong, their Headmaster, Professor Ozpin, who sent them into the forest, was watching from afar. As he did with all missions. He chuckled in his chair, but knew that the next challenge he had for them wouldn't come instantly.

"Cut the chatter you two, we've still got Grimm to clear out." Called their team leader, Ruby. Ruby was younger than the rest of her team. The rest of her class, actually. She was bumped up two years and put into a leadership position over her team. But she didn't let that go to her head. She worked harder than ever, with her team and herself. "Yang, Blake, go check east. Go out by half a kilometer and come back. Weiss, you and I will check west by the same distance. Meet back here when you've gone your distance." She ordered. "Oh, you know what to do if you find any Grimm." The rest of her team nodded and they went their separate ways.

"You really think we'll run into anything?" Weiss asked, "We've kinda been decimating them. if any Grimm saw or _heard_ what we were doing, they'd probably run for it."

"Some," Ruby said, "But not all." Ruby knew what most Beowolves would do. There was always a plethora near her house on her home island of Patch. Whenever there was one she would be the one to take it down. She knew most were smart enough to flee to live and fight another day. But some were young, and those young ones were the foolish ones.

And the foolish ones were the easiest prey.

After a few minutes of walking, Ruby and Weiss looked to each other and nodded. They didn't know how far they went, but they took an estimated guess at half a kilometer. "Yang, Blake, we're on our way back." Ruby spoke into her scroll, which maintained contact with her team and the school. "How are you two doing?"

Silence.

"Yang probably forgot to turn it on again." Weiss said bluntly.

"No, I saw her and Blake turn theirs on." Ruby said with a shaky voice, "Yang? Blake? Come in." Still nothing. "I've got a fix on their location. Come on, Weiss." The two pushed it into high gear. It was one thing for Yang not to respond right away unless she was alone. But if someone else could do it for her, she would leave the radio to them. To have Blake not respond meant something went down.

After another moment of running, they finally heard gunshots and explosions. Breaking through the tree line they found their teammates to be under attack by a large pack of Ursi and Beowolves. Ruby and Weiss drew their weapons and jumped into the frey.

"Hey sis!" Yang called out, "Glad you could join us!" She said as she buried her fist into an Ursa minor.

"Well we couldn't leave you and Blake to have all of the fun." Ruby shot back, "Speaking of which, where is-" Before she could finish a shadow appeared right before her and on top of an unsuspecting Beowolf. The shadow shot a ribbon around the wolf's neck and shot it back, sending it crashing to the Grimm behind. "Oh, well that answers that."

"Hey Ruby." Her cat Faunus teammate shot a smile to her. "Glad to see you and Weiss show up."

"Thanks, glad we could make it." Ruby shot back. The rest of the team regrouped and formed up. The Grimm's numbers were large, but still posed little threat. At least until they heard a roar from behind the pack.

"Oh no." On cue, a massive Deathstalker broke through the tree line. "Yang," Ruby said, looking to her sister, "You said you wanted a challenge. Well _THERE_ it is!" As she finished her sentence she drew out her Scythe. The rest of the team prepared their weapons. Once again on cue, the Grimm charged, and so did Team RWBY.

Shot after shot Ruby sliced her way through the Grimm before her. If they didn't die by her wild-yet-controlled swings, they died by the guns high powered sniper rifle. She didn't relent, moved back for nothing and stood her ground. Using the force of the guns recoil and her speed semblance to her advantage, it was easy for her to move effectively. Her fighting skill was one of the reasons why Ozpin bumped her up by two years.

Weiss was deadly accurate. Using her rapier fueled by dust she plunged fire and ice into the chest cavities of the Grimm. Any that weren't destroyed by her directly faced her Glyphs. Sometimes people didn't know which was worse; dying by the glyph or by the blade.

Blake moved swiftly and accurately without mercy. Using her shadow semblance to her advantage she fooled many Ursa that dared to charge her. Avoiding direct attacks she slipped her way behind the great beats, turning her blades sideways and spinning around, creating a flurry of death and destruction.

Yang had shown her dominance once to these beasts and was doing so again. She used her shotgun gauntlets and brute force to dispatch her foes. The scary thing was, that wasn't the worst thing about her. No, it was her semblance. Whenever she took a hit, she could turn the force of that hit, and any other, against her foe in a burning fury. A high risk, high reward semblance. Tough to use, but she made it work.

The team cut down everything in their way. Professor Ozpin watched on, slightly awestruck. It wasn't every day where a first year team could show this much potential during a simple 'clear-out' mission.

As team RWBY finished the last of the smaller Grimm, the bigger ones; Ursa majors, Alpha Beowolves and, of course, the oversized Deathstalker. RWBY reloaded and prepared for a bigger fight.

"Well team," Ruby began, "It's been an honor-"

"Ruby Rose don't you think about dying on us." Weiss interrupted.

"Oh, I have no plans on it. I just thought you'd like to know." She and Yang smiled while Blake chuckled. Ruby had a way to lighten the mood, yet be serious at the same time.

With a roar the Alpha Beowolves charged first. Team RWBY stayed on the defense, however. Letting the fight come to them. Shortly after the Beowolves, the Ursi decided to join. This still posed little threat. It was the big boy behind everything that Team RWBY was afraid of.

The team dispatched their foes quickly and moved to their final target. This was their true test. This was what Ozpin was hoping for; to see them fight off a massive beast.

"Ladybug!" Ruby called out. Her and Blake ran in first, assaulting the scorpion head-on, while avoiding its massive stinger. "Freezerburn!" Was her next order. Yang and Weiss both jumped back and started providing a storm of fire and ice from afar. They were beating the beast back but didn't have it close to dead.

Ruby and Blake jumped back so Yang and Weiss could unleash their full potential. When Yang paused to reload, Ruby ordered a regroup.

"Iceflower!" With that, Ruby set up her Scythe to start sniping the Deathstalker. Weiss put up a few glyphs in front of the gun to increase the power of the rounds. Still, the beast went unfazed and charged the team. "Scatter!"

The team did as they were ordered, sticking by their respective partners. "None of this is working." Weiss said. Ruby couldn't deny it, she was right. Everything they threw at this monstrosity failed to have any effect. But they couldn't stop.

Yang and Blake were currently keeping the beast distracted, which left Weiss and Ruby to a perfect ambush. They were right behind, out of sight from the Deathstalker. Weiss looked to Ruby who met her glance and prepared a glyph.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Nope." Ruby smiled to her partner and jumped back into the glyph. Weiss gave it an extra boost to let Ruby fly a bit higher.

Their timing was impeccable, as Blake had been down and Yang smacked away with the beasts massive claw. Before the stinger could come down on Ruby's Faunus teammate, she turned her scythe skyward and shot out, sending herself down upon the unsuspecting below. She made a good hit, and cut the stinger off of its tail before the damage could be done. Ruby found herself on top of the Deathstalker's back, which had cried out in pain from having part of its tail cut off.

Before Ruby had time to react she was shaken off and grabbed by the beasts claw. Her weapon was sent flying away from her. Now she was at the massive beasts mercy; which it had none of. Throwing the 15 year old skyward, the Grimm smacked her down with what was left of its tail. Ruby was sent flying into the trees, leaving a horrified and angered team behind.

The angered one, was of course Ruby's older sister, Yang. If there was one thing you didn't mess with, aside for Yang's hair, it was her family.

And _no one hurt her family._

Unleashing all of her fury at once, Yang glowed with the intensity of a thousand suns, her eyes turned as red as her sisters cloak. Rage fueling her, she charged at the beast, intent and obliterating it. Killing it wouldn't be enough. She had to send a message to all. Hurt her sister, and be turned to _ash._

Punch after punch, neither shot losing its intensity, she kept at the Deathstalker. It's cry of pain roared throughout the forest, until there was nothing. Yang had killed it. She did more than that, she burned away over half of the Deathstalker's body. It's entire right half was gone.

"Let that be a lesson, bitch." Yang said, towering over the burning ash. She turned to her stunned teammate. Blake had watched in awe and horror. "What?" Yang asked, "You've seen me mad before." The fire on her body had diminished and her eyes returned to their lilac color. She walked over to Blake and offered a hand. Blake accepted and smiled.

"Thanks." She said. "We need to find Ruby now." She pulled out her scroll, "Weiss, did you find her?"

"Did Yang kill that thing?"

"What do you think?" Yang called through her scroll, "Now did you find my sister or not?!" Yang was still mad. Or irritated. It was tough to tell sometimes.

"Yeah, I found her and her weapon. She's unconscious though. She got sent through a few trees and had a pretty hard landing."

Now was the time for Ozpin to intervene. "Alright Team RWBY, you've done better than we could expect. Regroup with your fallen leader and teammate and we will pick you up. Medics will be with them."

With that Yang and Blake began moving to Weiss. They both saw what Weiss was talking about. Ruby was shot down with such force that she went through _three_ trees. It wasn't clear if she had hit her head or not, but the team didn't want to risk moving her. After a moment the rescue had arrived with medics in tow. Luckily they were already in a clearing, which meant the crew didn't have to worry about finding an alternative landing site.

The medics quickly looked over Ruby and prepared her for the ride back. The rest of the team had followed suit. They all knew one thing:

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well this was better received than I thought. It was actually a mistake to post it, I just wanted the document up, but I have no regrets for uploading it in the long run. I was going to have this up over the weekend that it was posted, but I had an issue with formatting and making it so that nothing was forced or felt incomplete. **

**So, without further delay, here is the second chapter to Amnesia. Enjoy.**

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><p>The last few hours had been taxing for the girls of team RWBY. Yang's adrenaline dropped after a while which left her body worn out and her stamina gone. Blake had been relatively uninjured after taking a beating from the monolithic Deathstalker, but still was sore. Weiss had gone uninjured almost completely, except for a few scrapes and bruises here and there.<p>

One thing that the three shared was physical marks. But that wasn't the taxing part. It was their concern for their team leader, Ruby. She had been tossed like a rag-doll through three trees and had a very hard landing after. The doctors had been working on her for almost two hours, but Team RWBY stayed near their leader until the doctors could give any developments. Ozpin was going back and forth from the waiting room to Ruby's room, giving the occasional update. But nothing really changed.

Yang was struggling to stay awake. After burning that much energy and using that much physical force, her body had been drained. This whole thing with Ruby in the hospital was going to leave her emotionally drained, too. She could only hope her little sister doesn't have any permanent injury.

"Miss Xiao Long?" Ozpin asked, "Why don't you take a nap? You've had an exhausting day."

"Why don't you fuck off?" She murmured under her breath. She wasn't one to be against authority. But then again, she wasn't really in the mood to negotiate anything either.

"I'm sorry?" Ozpin asked, not hearing what Yang said.

"Nothing. I'm just not going to do that. Not until I know she's ok." Yang explained.

"We'll tell you when there are any updates Yang..." Weiss said, backing Ozpin, "You need to rest."

"No, I need to-" As if on cue the doctor appeared in the doorway behind Ozpin, cutting Yang off. They all turned to the doctor, eager to learn of their young leaders fate.

"Well, I'm happy to say she's going to be fine." He explained, "She is sedated and will be put into a medically induced coma for about a week or two." Yang winced at the coma bit. "She has a concussion. A bad one, too. This doesn't appear to have caused any permanent brain damage, however. Her Aura must've kept up, protecting her."

All of the remaining members of Team RWBY took a sigh of relief. Their leader would be ok. She's going to be in a coma, but will be ok.

"Thank you doctor," Ozpin said. The doctor nodded.

"Unfortunately, the visiting hours are over, now. You can return at 8 tomorrow morning, however." He explained, "We go 8 am- 10 pm." It was currently 9:34. They had 26 minutes, but it was hospital policy that no more visits after 9. You can stay until 10 if you where visiting before the cut off time, though.

"It's ok," Weiss said, "We'll be back first thing tomorrow. That is, if that's ok with you, Professor-"

"No issue at all," Ozpin cut her off, "You can take a few days off of class to rest and recover." Team WBY nodded, thanking Ozpin. "come now, we must get back to campus. You all will need as much rest as possible, if you truly want to be here first thing." Again, the team nodded and they all left.

When they got back to their dorms, it was a team wide crash. Yang had fallen asleep instantly, Blake couldn't really move past rolling over in her bed. Same with Weiss, but what set the two apart was how they slept. Blake fell asleep quickly, but Weiss had a hard time finding sleep. Her concern for her young leader left her unable to sleep right away.

"Weiss," A voice called. Weiss didn't have to look hard to find the voices owner, as it was her aforementioned leaders sister, Yang, who somehow woke up from her own crash. "She'll be ok. These doctors have the best supplies possible to help her. She'll be ok." Yang assured. Weiss smiled and nodded. Ruby was tough, tougher than any of them. This was just an annoying obstacle she had to deal with.

Weiss knew Yang was right. This assurance let her find sleep quickly.

Morning came quickly for the remainder of Team RWBY. None of them wanted to get up but the knowledge that their own leader was still in the hospital drove them all awake.

Ruby was in Vales hospital, rather than the school infirmary. It would be better and easier to treat her there rather than on campus, where the tools and supplies for this type of case are not available. The hospital was happy to help any severe injury the school couldn't handle.

They all walked into the hospital just after 8:30. A nurse knew that team RWBY would arrive and took them directly to see their leader. Walking into the room, the team saw their leader, lying in the bed, sleeping softly. She had a breathing apparatus for more than obvious reasons.

"There's a button along the EKG machine," The nurse said, "If there is an issue of any sort, feel free to press it. One of my nurses will be in faster than you can say 'Wow that was fast'." The team nodded as the nurse left. They all took their seats around their leader.

"You know," Blake started, "They say that even though you're in a coma, you can still hear people."

"I've read that," Weiss agreed, "Doctors walk into rooms of comatose patients and announce themselves like they would an awake patient. That way when the patient wakes up, they'll know the doctor and the nurses." This information was well received by Yang.

"Hey sis," She started with a shaky voice, "Good to see you." It killed Yang to see her sister like this. "Sorry it took us so long to get in here; stupid hospital rules held us back." This caused Weiss and Blake to chuckle a bit. "You gave us quite the scare out there. That Deathstalker must've gotten a good shot on you." At this point Yang was just winging her conversation.

"Ruby," Blake started, picking up before Yang could start drabbling. "You saved me out there. I want to thank you." Yang put a hand on Blake's shoulder, "I'd probably be in a worse spot then in here. I owe you so much when wake up."

Weiss knew it was her turn to speak, but she wasn't going to get sappy like the rest of her team. She knew Ruby wouldn't want to be having a conversation like this. "So your stunt out there got us a few days off of class." She started, "Between you saving Blake from death and saving us from another one of Port's stories, I think we owe you much much more than we even realize."

The team had a chuckle after that comment. It wasn't every day where Weiss made a joke. After Weiss, the silence in the room was palpable. The only noise was Ruby's breathing apparatus and EKG machine. Weiss had enough of this.

"Ok," She started, "I'm going to go see if hospital food really is good or bad. Anyone want to come with?" Blake stood silently. Her gesture spoke more than her words. Yang stayed seated, however. "Yang?"

"No, Weiss. I'm not hungry." She said. Yang hadn't had an appetite for a while. Not since lunch yesterday. "I'm just going to stay and keep her company."

Blake and Weiss nodded. This clearly wasn't a normal Yang. But then again, who would be normal after seeing their sister in a hospital bed? The two left the room, leaving Yang to talk with her sister. Talk meaning she would just have to tell stories. It would be just like when they were kids.

"Hey, Ruby..." She started.

I awoke, only to darkness. Cold, lonely darkness. It seemed as though I was floating, no... that's not the case. My feet are on the ground... I think.

Where am I?

"Yang?" I called once. My sister would know where I was, she had to. She or... who else? Uhg, I keep seeing these faces, but no name comes to mind when I see them. I heard voices earlier too... Was that their voices?

Ah, I can't keep on this. I have to find a way out. Or at least find out where I am...

"Ruby..." I heard someone call my name. Turning around I saw Yang.

"Yang!" I cried out, overjoyed. I rushed to give her a hug as big as ever... but I went right through her... "Wha-" Yang just shook her head. She knew something. "Yang, where am I?"

"I don't know what to do, Ruby... I- I thought I could protect you... Or at least..." She trailed off, choking back a sob.

"Yang!" I said fervently, "Where. Am. I?!" She didn't seem to hear me, though. She just kept going on...

"Ruby, I'm sorry any of this happened. I just want you to be safe. Blake and Weiss want you to be safe."

"Weiss?... Blake?"

"I know the doctors said there shouldn't be any physical harm, but I still can't help but worry about you..."

"Physical harm? From what?" What is Yang talking about? "Yang, please, help me!" It was my turn to choke back a sob. Confused and lost, the one person who I could trust to bring me out of this darkness couldn't hear me.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. But I have to go. Me, Weiss and Blake will be back tomorrow, though, don't worry."

"Yang, wait!"

"Goodbye." She planted a kiss on my forehead, then vanished, once again leaving me to my solitude in the cold dark.

"Yang... no..." How am I ever going to get out of here?

Over the course of the week, Team RWBY had kept visiting. Day after day they would be there, their voices occupying the darkness. But then they would leave, and the cold would return, sometimes bringing a vision. These visions would fade, however, without Ruby realizing.

Ruby tried to figure out who's voices were there, along with her sisters. She could recognize them, but as the week went on and the visions faded, so did the faces that the voices were matched to. She heard names, but the only one that made sense was Yang's.

Ozpin had excused Team RWBY from all classes until the start of next week. The workload wasn't much, with two hours work they could catch up easily. Team JNPR decided to pay Ruby a visit in the hospital, but they felt a little awkward speaking to someone who could not respond. They did have interesting conversations with each other, though. That was probably the only thing that saved everyone from total awkwardness.

Once the new week began, the visits to Ruby only happened later in the day. Class would get out, team would go to the hospital and do any kind of work they had. All week until that Friday.

The doctor announced that Ruby was ready to be awakened. Her concussion had been treated and they still detected almost no damage to her brain. Ozpin once again excused the team of their classes for that day. None of the professors could argue against it. They didn't mind.

"Ok," The doctor began, "She's ready to be pulled out from her coma. She should wake up within the hour, and you are all more than welcome to stay in her room until told otherwise." The three nodded and followed the doctor in. The suspense was killing them; to hear their leaders voice again would be all they wanted.

Fifteen minutes past... Fifteen minutes of silence. Until she began to stir.

First, her hand started twitching. Then she let out a tired groan. Then her eyes opened, slowly. Her teammates crowded around her, eager to see their leader awake.

"Ruby!" Yang said excitedly.

"Er, hey Yang," Her voice was groggy and weak, "Wha- What happened?"

"You got knocked down pretty hard by a huge Deathstalker," Weiss said, "You've been asleep for almost two weeks."

Ruby turned to Weiss and Blake and just stared at them for a moment. She analyzed the two and turned to her sister, "Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Who are they?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Well here we are, chapter 3. Enjoy!**

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><p>"What?" Weiss asked, shocked and appalled, "What do you mean 'who are they?'?! We're your teammates!"<p>

Her voice only rose as her anger did. She thought Ruby was playing a game until Ruby started grabbing her head at Weiss' raised voice. "Ahh! I don't know who you are! I'm sorry!"

Weiss, Blake and Yang all looked at each other, concerned. They turned back to Ozpin who shared a concerned look, then they all turned to the doctor. "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. We're going to run some tests real quick and see what's wrong." Ozpin nodded and lead the girls out of the room.

"The nerve of her!" Weiss almost screamed, "That's not a good joke to play on people!" She was furious, but failed to see any other alternative to Ruby's comment.

"Weiss," Blake intervened in her rant, "Maybe it wasn't a game. Maybe she actually doesn't remember us."

"Or," She started, "Or Yang could have told her to act like this while she was asleep!" Yang looked up, shocked that Weiss would make such an accusation.

"Why would I do that?! And what in the Hell makes you think I did, anyway?!"

"You've spent the most time with her _and_ she recognized you but not us! That leads me to believe that you set her up to this!"

"Ahem!" Ozpin broke in, "Ms. Schnee, I understand where your coming from with this, but there are other factors that could lead Ruby to acting the way she did." Weiss just stared at him. She knew it too, but didn't want to believe it. "Ruby's aura might have broken when she made contact with the last tree. So when she hit the ground that could have caused a trauma that lead to amnesia."

Every member of Team RWBY had said nothing. They either had their eyes closed or had started to stare into space, realizing what Ozpin said was actually true. "Or," He began again, "Or the impact wasn't as bad as we thought, and her trauma isn't a physical one; rather an emotional one."

"That could be it," Blake began, "Ruby has always had a inferiority complex. Maybe she thought she didn't belong and chose to forget everything." Blake was right about Ruby's inferiority complex. On a few occasions where the team had just sat and talked with each other, Ruby had made mention that she didn't think she earned her place. The rest of her teammates thought she was crazy and tried to prove her otherwise, but they knew it didn't help much. She was young and thought she had to work more to be there.

She may have been happy to have gotten to Beacon earlier than she planned, but that doesn't mean she felt like she earned her place.

Yang remained mostly silent until now, "What if her Aura didn't break? What if the impact was just too much for her body to handle, but the Aura stayed intact? If there wasn't anything more for a few internal fractures..."

"That doesn't correspond with a broken Aura." Blake interrupted, "If her Aura did break, she would have much more severe injuries. That would also explain why a CaT scan wouldn't show of any damage."

"It doesn't matter," Ozpin spoke up, "Fact of the matter is that your leader has amnesia. You are going to have to help her through this. If it is physical damage, then there might not be any way of her getting her memory back. But if it's emotional trauma- maybe something someone said or did- then there can be a trigger that can pull her back into the world."

"Wait-" Yang started, "- something someone said or did..." She looked to Weiss who met Yang's gaze.

"Oh no..."

"Don't even, Ms. Schnee!" Ozpin ordered, "We will not play a blame game here! No one is to blame for her insecurities. She always thought she had to do more and if that's the case then her mind made it so that this never happened. A chance for her to start over and work for her place. In her mind, at least."

"Excuse me," The doctor interrupted, "We've completed our tests." He pulled out a paper from a file, "We can't find any physical damage, to the brain. And I did hear what you all were saying about her Aura, and you're right. Her wounds do not correspond with a broken Aura. I believe my earlier diagnosis was off."

"So..." Weiss started, but the doctor knew what she was about to ask,

"We're going to bring in our mental professional to examine her-"

"That won't be necessary," Ozpin interrupted, "This hospital has done enough. My school can take it from here. Now that she is awake we can perform our own tests and see what is really the cause instead of just speculating about it."

"I- Bu-... Ok. Fine. Your choice." The doctor said, mildly offended. "Now that our tests are complete I will allow you to see her. She was asking for Yang almost the entire time." Ozpin nodded and the doctor left the room. The team took a moment to compose themselves before going to enter Ruby's room.

They were met with a smile from the face of their young leader. "Hey." She greeted, "Yang, you never told me who your friends were."

"Uh, yeah. Ruby," Yang started, trying to think about how she should ask this, "Did the doctors tell you anything? Like, do you know what happened? Where you are?"

"Uh," She thought, "They kinda filled me in... I dont know, they made me answer more questions; 'what is your name?', 'do you know where you are?', things like that."

"But they didn't tell you much?" Yang asked.

"No. They told me where I was, but that was it. They said you three would tell me. Which you still haven't answered _my_ question." Ruby was more than serious in emphasizing the fact the she hadn't had a single question asked.

"Ok, uh..." Yang said, trying to figure out a place to start, "Well, first off this is Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna," She pointed to her teammates who smiled at Ruby. Ruby nodded to them, "You were our team leader at Beacon."

Ruby took a moment to let it all sink in. "But, Yang... We're still at Signal..." She said confused, "You're in your last year there and waiting to see if you got accepted to Beacon or not..."

"Not quite, I'm afraid," Ozpin intervened, "You were bumped up two years and were placed with on a team with your sister, Ms. Schnee and Ms. Belladonna. You've been at Beacon for almost a full year, now."

"I... I..." Ruby was shocked, trying to think, to _remember._ "I don't remember any of that... We were sitting in class yesterday, preparing to take the year's final exams..." She tried hard to make sense of what was happening, but nothing worked.

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Rose. I'm sorry."

"Ruby..." Yang spoke up, taking the hand of her shell shocked sister, "The doctor said you have amnesia. And by the looks of it, you've forgotten the entire past year."

Ruby took a moment and closed her eye. She tried so hard to make sense of it all. She had all of the info, except... "How..."

"What?"

"How did this happen? What..."

"You were hit by a huge Deathstalker, it sent you through a few trees and you hit the ground pretty hard, knocking you out. We couldn't find anything that would say your amnesia is caused by physical damage, but it might be..."

"What does that mean, Yang?" Ruby said, starting to choke up.

"It means we don't know if your amnesia is because of the impact from the Deathstalker or if it's an emotional injury..." Weiss said hesitantly. She didn't want to break up the moment between the sisters, but she couldn't stay silent forever. She had to show her leader that her teammates, all of them, were there for her. Even if she couldn't remember them.

Ruby met Weiss' gaze, "So... I... I'm sorry. I'm just, so confused."

"That's understandable." Weiss said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder "We're all here to help you right now. Ozpin is going to take us back to Beacon soon and we'll be able to treat you better there."

"Our infirmary has enough equipment to help with your amnesia. If it's physical, we can treat it. If it's emotional as we suspect, then it will be a matter of you."

Ruby took all of this information, now understanding. "We have a ride waiting for you, Ms. Rose. Nurse!" He ordered. A nurse soon came, "Please help us with taking this patient back to my academy." The nurse nodded, knowing full well who the patient was and why Ozpin was asking for that.

It had been a thirty minute ride back to Beacon. Team RWBY still stayed by their leaders side. JNPR wanted to visit, but was told to come back later. Ozpin informed the team that tomorrow Ruby will begin her recovery. The school may not have had the best tech to work with coma's, but the academy had seen their fair share of concussions, amnesia, mental illness of all kind. You name it.

They were more than prepared to help Ruby see this through. The first step would be to find out what caused her amnesia: Physical damage, or an emotional toll.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Was it Weiss' harsh words over the year that convinced Ruby she didn't belong? Was it Ruby's inferiority complex? Or was it the fact that she got smacked down by a Deathstalker tail with the force of a MAC Truck? Well, I know, but you don't (yet). Tell me what you think!<strong>

**So how was it? I've gotten a lot of people telling me to keep going, which is a good sign. I always planned to keep it going. I may even move to 2 chapters a week with how fast I'm making them. We'll see about that one though, as I've been playing a lot of Destiny (and I mean a LOT of Destiny), which has significantly slowed down my writing. **

**Yes, I'm distracted easily, get off my back. **

**Anyway, that's really it for me. Not really much here, and I feel as though I forced the ending, but I couldn't figure out anywhere else appropriate to end it off at. So... Yeah. Sorry. **

**Tell me what you think. Have a Happy New Year!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's late, been kinda busy.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>It had been another long night for Team RWBY. They refused to leave their leaders side all night, which the nurses in the infirmary didn't mind. So long as they didn't cause a ruckus or disrupt other students rest.<p>

The team tried to get some rest, like their leader had been getting, but they all were too worried. Ruby got some sleep after a while, but she still stayed up for as long as she could, trying to get as much information out of her teammates as possible. After a while, her still aching body demanded rest, so she obeyed and drifted into slumber.

"How are we going to do this?" Weiss asked, her gaze not leaving her resting leader.

"Do what?" Blake asked, "Help her with her recovery?"

"No... I mean our chain of command. If she doesn't remember any of this, then..."

"I don't think we'll be getting a combat mission soon Weiss." Yang interrupted, "If Ruby forgot the last year, then she's forgotten our fighting maneuvers. She will either have to relearn them, or remember. Let's hope she can remember them, soon." Weiss just nodded, realizing that this was the best way to go. If she wasn't so tired, she would have realized it herself. "As for leader..." Yang began again, "I think you're our best bet." She looked to Weiss.

"Me?"

"Yes. You spent the most time with Ruby. Hell you even wanted to lead this team at the start of the year. Now's your chance. If we get any combat mission- which is doubtful- but if it happens, you will lead us." Weiss thought she was dreaming. She wanted to be leader for so long, but after a while she accepted Ruby as her leader and didn't care for it very much. Now the power is hers.

But she wasn't sure if she wanted it.

A nurse walked in, catching Weiss deep in thought. "I need to wake up the patient and change her dressing." The nurse said, "Sorry, you're going to have to wait out here. If you want you can go get some breakfast." The team hadn't realized what time it was. The sun was peaking over the horizon which meant that the cafeteria would be open.

"Ok," Yang nodded, "We'll go get some food. Hopefully we can see team JNPR there and tell them what's going on." The rest of the team nodded and left, slight lack of sleep slowing them down.

It took the team less than 10 minutes to get to the Cafeteria where they met JNPR, just like Yang had hoped.

"So," Pyhrra started, "how's Ruby doing? I understand she starts her recovery."

"Yeah, what is it, like a broken leg or something?" Jaune asked. The team then realized JNPR as a whole had been left in the dark. They hadn't been told of Ruby's amnesia.

"Well," Weiss started, "About her recovery... Uh..."

"Let's not sugarcoat this, Weiss," Blake said, "Ruby has amnesia." Blake's words made all of Team JNPR stop and stare. "Her recovery will begin today. As to what the process will be, we don't know. First off is finding out if she can't remember, or doesn't chose to."

"Wait wait wait, what?" Jaune dropped his breakfast muffin in shock.

"Way to make the man drop his muffin, Blake." Yang said. Blake just shrugged off the comment. "Yes, Ruby has amnesia. We don't know if the force of the impact from when she hit the ground cause it, or if it's her inferiority complex telling her she's not good enough to be here."

"Well either way, there should be a way for her to regain her memory, right?" Pyhrra asked.

"Not quite." Ren spoke, "Amnesia is tricky. If it's physical damage then sometimes you can't remember anything ever. On those occasions people just pick up where they left off. But in cases of psychiatric amnesia, the person has chosen to not remember a moment. Though I'm not entirely sure if Ruby's inferiority complex would cause that. It's more traumatic experiences that leave a person not scarred physically, but emotionally." Ren finished, and went back to eating his breakfast.

"Well, whatever the issue, we're going to help her through this." Weiss stated.

"And we'll be there every step of the way." Jaune declared after retrieving his muffin.

Breakfast ended rather quickly. The team wanted to eat fast and get back to their leader. Walking into her room, they were met with a barely awake rose.

"Hey," Ruby started, "There you all are."

"Hey sis." Yang started. "Sorry, we got kicked out while they changed your dressing."

"It's fine, Yang. I haven't been waiting long." She looked over to her other teammates, "Wait, wait, let me see if I can get this, uh" She pointed at Blake, "Uh, you're Blake!" Blake nodded, not really caring about last names. "Yes! And you're..." Ruby spent another moment, trying to remember the name of her partner, "Wise!"

Weiss sighed, "Well, you're close." She patted Ruby on the shoulder. All the while Yang and Blake had started laughing.

"Hey, I'm trying here!" Ruby shouted, offended at the fact that her teammates were laughing at her.

"Sorry, sis!" Yang said between breaths, "But I needed that." This made Ruby even more upset and slightly flustered.

"Ok, ok..." Yang started after a moment of laughter, "I'm good. I'm good. Ok. So, now that that's out of the way, I want to get down to some business with you before we start on your recovery."

"Uh, ok." Ruby said, not liking where this was going.

"Do you remember anything from when you were asleep?"

Ruby thought about this, but it didn't take long. "Yeah, yeah I think I do. I was dreaming at some points. But in others I could hear voices. I recognized your voice instantly, Yang. But the others..." Ruby trailed off, "There were times where there were too many voices. But the one thing I made note of was your voices" She pointed to her other teammates. "It's why I didn't really flip out when I saw you when I woke up. I recognized your voices because you always spoke when I could hear Yang's voice. So I just equated it to you knowing each other."

"So you recognized us, but because of our voices?" Blake asked, trying to make sense of Ruby's explanation. Ruby nodded. "So you don't remember anything else about us?"

Ruby shook her head, slightly annoyed, "I thought we've been over this I don't remember anything."

"Ok, ok. It's ok." Yang said, grabbing her sisters shoulder after recognizing Ruby was getting mad. "We're just curious." Ruby relaxed a bit.

"The thing is," Ruby began again, "Whenever I heard a voice, it was dark... Cold even." Her teammates faces grew concerned, "I-I think... I had visions when I heard some voices alone, when no one else was around to talk. I saw... What did I see?" She thought about it for a moment, "It looked like a room, uh, it had bunk beds-"

"Our dorm!" Yang exclaimed!

"Our dorm has bunk beds?" Ruby asked, confused and curious. "It seems so... I don't know, spacious?"

"Not quite," Weiss spoke, "At first, at least. The first few months it was packed in that room but after a while we got everything situated and moved around. Now we could do without the bunk beds, but I think it opens up a lot of space."

"Yeah, a lot of space filled by nothing." Yang mumbled.

"Something to add, Xiao Long?"

"Oh no. Nothing from me. But there wouldn't be a lot of open space if you would just add in a-"

"We are _NOT_ adding in stereo speaker set, Yang!" Weiss exclaimed, rising from her seat, "We'd get in _so_ much trouble for the music!"

"Oh no we wouldn't! You worry too much." Yang's attitude only drew anger from Weiss, as she did not want to be cited for a noise violation that the speakers would surely ensue.

The two began to go at it, like they usually did. For a moment, Blake felt right at home. It had been a while since the two had gone to throw done like this and now that they are, Blake felt like nothing was wrong in the world.

"Ah, déjà vu." Ruby said, "One of my visions was you two going at it, looked pretty heated too. Though, I didn't hear any noise then..." Ruby trailed off.

"Oh great!" Weiss started, "The one thing my team leader remembers is me fighting her brute of a sister!"

Yang pulled her into a headlock, "Well we did fight like no other, you know!"

"Ahem." There was a knock with the voice. The team was sure they had gotten in trouble by the nurses for the volume of their voices. Turning, they saw Professor Ozpin. The sight left mixed feelings, as they still thought they were in trouble. "Hello all," He began, "I'd like to let you all know that tomorrow Ruby will be starting her testing."

"Her... Testing?" Weiss asked.

"Yes. We'd like to test her physical and mental state so that we know which standard we can hold her to in order to begin the long road to memory recovery. We will start with a test only leaders can take. We will then move to a physical test, where she will fight off a few packs of Grimm with each of you individually, then together. Then another written test on Grimm using common knowledge and information learned here. Then we will test her in a spar against all of you, once again individually then as a unit. Any questions?"

Weiss started, "Actually, I have-"

"Good! Rest up, Ruby. Tomorrow you have some tests to take." With that, Ozpin left, closing the door to the infirmary room. The girls all took their seats once again around their leader.

"I hate it when he does that." Weiss started.

"He does that a lot?"

"You get used to it, sis." Yang said. "So, what were you saying earlier?"

"Huh? Oh! Right! The visions. Well, they were all seen whenever I heard a voice. It would be a new vision every time I heard someone, regardless of how many times I've heard that person. Those visions are kinda blurry now, but I know I had them."

"Hmmm," Blake started, "If they were visions where you saw our dorm, then they were probably memories. Your mind was trying to get you to remember who we were. You said you didn't hear any voices in the vision?" Ruby shook her head, "Then your mind was probably just trying to focus on the voice and not on the memory."

"Hmmm, that does make sense." Ruby thought out loud, "Does being cold whenever I heard one of you mean anything?"

"I-I don't know." Blake said honestly, "I have a psychology book back at the dorm I can look over tonight and see if it says anything. I even have some friends who work in the psych field who can help."

"Wow Blake," Yang started, "Where do you find time?" Blake just smiled and shrugged.

"Ok!" Weiss took over, "I have a few things I want to say."

"Ahah! I knew it!" Yang exclaimed, "You do have a thing for Neptune!" She got a blank stare from Blake and Ruby and an angry stare from Weiss.

"No. Actually, I want to address our leadership situation, and this test situation." She looked to Ruby, "Until you get back on your feet and have your memory back, we need a team leader. We need a team leader who's not totally... You know." Ruby nodded, understanding completely where Weiss was going. "Since you're our leader, we were wondering who you would appoint as a backup to-"

"Yang will be my backup." Ruby interrupted.

Weiss looked to Ruby, baffled and stunned. She had forgotten to take into affect Ruby's lack of memory on how badly Weiss wanted to be leader. Yang looked to her sister and started shaking her head, mouthing 'no, pick her, quick.' Luckily, Ruby got the memo, "A-Actually, I change my mind! I forgot, Yang wasn't the best leader back at Signal. You can be it, Weiss."

"Pfft, great cover, sis." Yang sat back in her chair, clearly not liking the excuse. "Weiss, If you keep us to any kind of strict schedule I will-!"

"Relax. You're in good hands." Weiss said, putting a hand on the eldest sister. "So, the test. I think you sho-"

"I'm just gonna wing it." Ruby said, throwing her hands back behind her head.

"You... What?"

"It's going to be a physical test. If the leadership test is anything I took back at Signal, it'll be a cake walk. Sure I'll have to go over what our plans were when working together, but other than that I don't think I can study much. I certainly can't go out and train. The nurses get pissy with me if I even so much as try to get out of bed."

"We heard that!" I shout came from the other room.

"I hope you did!" Ruby shouted back. "It wouldn't be an issue if you just let me walk around every now and again!"

Weiss looked at Ruby, stunned. Yang and Blake understood Ruby's position. There really wasn't any studying for this. It would all be mental work. Weiss didn't take that very well.

"You can't just wing it! You need to study, I mean-"

"It's not like I'm being graded on it."

"But-"

"Weiss!" Blake interrupted, "Remember the last time you made Ruby study too much?" Weiss looked at her, then closed her eyes remembering the day, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let's not have that happen again."

"Wha-?"

"I'll tell you later." Blake promised. "For now, I think the best thing is to rest some more. The test sounds like it's gonna be pretty tough. We'll see if Ozpin can tell us anything else on it. Ok with you guys?"

Weiss and Yang nodded. Ruby, however, wasn't entirely up for that plan.

"Oh," she said, "That's ok, I guess." She carried a rather dejected tone in her voice.

"Hey," Yang said, bumping her sisters arm. "What's up?"

"It's just, every time you guys all leave."

"Oh, say no more." Yang instantly understood, "I'll hang back this time, guys. See if I can even pry more info out of her." She said as she pulled Ruby into a headlock. Blake and Weiss nodded and decided they should catch Ozpin now before it's too late. They waved goodbye to the sisters and left the infirmary.

Ruby looked to Yang, "You're not really going to make me talk too much, are you?"

Yang laughed, "Nope."

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><p>Blake and Weiss moved quickly down the hall, trying to get to Ozpins office. They wanted to see if there was anything Ruby could do to prepare for tomorrows test. Weiss was more interested in this. Blake was against Ruby going overboard with studying, as the last time it happened Weiss pushed Ruby too hard and Ruby spent almost two whole days studying with no sleep. This left Ruby very tired and eventually left her to getting sick. Blake wasn't about to have that happen again soon, in fact it was better Ruby didn't remember it.<p>

Blake and Weiss got to Ozpins office in no time, only to be denied entrance by Glynda Goodwitch. "Ms. Schnee, Ms. Belladonna, shouldn't you be with your team leader right now?"

"We would be, but we were curious about the test Ozpin has set up." Weiss began.

"Oh? What are your questions? I'm sure I can help you out. I will be watching over you all during the physical portion of the test?"

Blake's turn, "Ok. How long should the test take?"

"It will be an all day affair."

"What do you hope to achieve?"

"We want to see what she remembers and how we can aide in her recovery, making it faster and easier for all."

Weiss interjected, "You're like a human Troubleshooting form, aren't you?"

"I would say so, Ms. Schnee, yes." Goodwitch laughed, "I have a lot of experience with short and direct explanations. It gets easier and easier."

"I see," Weiss said. "So is there anything we can do to help prepare Ruby?"

"Make sure she rests her mind for the written exam and make sure she stretches well for the physical exam." Goodwitch said.

"Ok, perfect," Blake said looking and Weiss. She knew Weiss hated the fact of not preparing for a test. "We'll go let Ruby know."

"Actually, girls, one more thing." Goodwitch said, stopping them in their tracks, "While I have you, I want to ask if you know who will be taking over as Leader?" The two turned to look at her, "You see, every team needs a leader. We don't doubt Ms. Rose's capabilities, but we will still consider her incapacitated while she has her condition. So... Who will be your new leader?"

Blake and Weiss stared at each other for a few seconds. They both knew the answers, they were just afraid of what Goodwitch would say. "I am." Weiss finally said.

"Ah, you have the power you've always wanted, Ms. Schnee." Weiss winced a bit. Goodwitch tapped her scroll a few times and a little 'bing' sound came from it, indicating the position transfer. "You're all set girls." Goodwitch smiled. Weiss and Blake nodded and left.

Ruby and Yang had been talking for almost the entire time that Blake and Weiss were gone. They didn't talk about Ruby's dreams while unconscious. Yang could tell Ruby didn't like that very much. Contrary to popular belief, Ruby was always more... resigned. She wouldn't give her deep feelings on the spot, usually Yang had to pry them out of the girl when they were young.

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><p>"No way, Yang." Ruby said, "There's no way that she's a faunus!"<p>

"Oh yeah, sis," Yang assured, "Weiss wasn't really too thrilled with it. But she's grown to be more accepting over time."

"So she has cat ears... Does she have a tail?"

Yang thought about it for a moment. Really, she didn't know. She hadn't thought to ask. "I... I don't know, sis. I'm not sure if there's an appropriate time to ask that, uh..." Ruby sat there and started to giggle at Yang's attempt to explain.

"You've been her teammate for almost a year and you don't know?"

"Well you were our leader for a year and _you_ don't know either!" Yang exploded, causing Ruby to wince a bit. The younger girl hadn't read the tell-tale sign of Yang's growing frustration. Ruby knew it was more Yang mad at herself, but that didn't make it any less painful.

Yang recoiled, realizing what she said, "O-Oh god... Sorry sis." She wasn't sure what she was more sorry for; reminding her of her amnesia or yelling at her.

"It's ok, Yang. Really." Ruby assured, "Besides, you're right. I _was_ your leader for almost a year. But-"

"No." Yang put her hand over her sisters mouth, stopping her in her tracks, "Stop that. You're still our leader. No matter what. We're going to help you out of this, ok?"

Ruby nodded, "Thanks, Yang." She pulled her sister into a hug, one that neither wanted to end. Eventually they pulled themselves off of each other. "So," Ruby started, "What was that you were saying about, what was her name? Blake?"

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><p><strong>Ok, so... Yeah. More filler! Yay!<strong>

**The next chapter is gonna be long... Really long. Like it's going to take me a while to make long. It will definitely be at least 2 chapters in length. So be ready.**

**Also, that thing Blake brought up "The last time you made Ruby study too much", yeah, there's a fic to that being made. I just got done with the first chapter. It's not gonna be a series, but it's too long to be one chapter. So It's a mini-series. **

**On another note: Cataclysmic, still in the works. That one will be long, too. The story is winding down there, so be ready. Whenever I post it, it will signal the beginning of the end. **

**Final note, I have, once again, another fic lined up. BUT I will not post it until I am finished with Cataclysmic. My first story will end before I start more. I know most of you haven't read that (I don't blame you, I'll be honest,) But those of you that have have been waiting a while to see how it will go. I will not leave it to rot like a bunch of other fics. You know the ones. Really good concept, author did a good job, but never finished it? I refuse to have that be one of mine. **

**So, how was the chapter? Now that I'm done rambling, I guess I can talk a bit about this. I kinda wanted to get Ruby walking around a bit, maybe meet JNPR, but I felt that that would be... I don't know, I felt that it would take too much away from the story and make it longer than it is. **

**I will also address a question that came up: Will there be pairings? Ok, check this out: I _suck_ at writing relationships. I will give it a shot, I will mention it here and there (Teasing I can do), but keep in mind I am _not_ subtle. It will be bad. But I will try. **

**So, with that, I bid you all a good day. If my classes get canceled tomorrow as they did today, then I'll try and get chapter 5 up, even get that "Studied too much" fic up, too. JUST BECAUSE I CAN! If not, then wait for the weekend. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! I cut up the entire testing arc a little bit so it's not a clumped up. **

**Theories are made in this chapter. More dialogue and explanations. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>The day seemed to have begun like any other had over the last two weeks. The girls of Team RWBY woke up, got dressed and after breakfast they had made their way to the infirmary. Today was the day Ozpin had set up for Ruby to test.<p>

The test consisted of three major things subjects: Two written tests, one for battle strategy (as all leaders must know) and one a general test on Grimm. Anatomy, habits etc. The third portion of the test would be a physical test split into numerous parts. Ruby would have to fight alongside one member of her team against a pack of Beowolves (captured compliments of Professor Port), then fight with every member. The final part would be Ruby fighting against every member in a spar (or one member... It depends on Goodwitch's mood).

The written test on leadership would be first, right after lunch. Then they would begin the first stage of the physical tests. After that it would be the Grimm test (easy test, really. Only put in to give the test taker a rest.) Finally would be the spar.

It was almost ten o'clock. They would have three hours to be with their team leader before she would begin her test. Team RWBY began made their way to the infirmary quickly. The team wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ruby before throwing her into a grueling seven hour testing process.

Yang was lead the group into the infirmary and found Ruby's door. Knocking, they heard a quiet 'come in'. Opening the door, they found Ruby sitting on the side of her bed, fully dressed in her combat attire (that Yang was more than happy to drop off).

"Ruby?" Yang asked, "Are you ok?"

Ruby looked up at her sister, "Yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because it looked like you-" Weiss started, but stopped herself after realizing Ruby was probably mentally preparing herself, "-oh never mind."

Ruby shook off the comment, not allowing herself to be distracted for anything. "Ok, I think I'm ready." She looked to her teammates, who nodded. If she said she was ready, then they wouldn't stop her.

Yang put her arm around Ruby's shoulder and led her out of the room that Ruby called home for the last few days. Weiss and Blake followed closely, leaving the infirmary. In a matter of minutes they made it to Ozpin's office and knocked, receiving a 'come in' from the other side.

Walking in, they were met with Ozpin's welcoming gaze, "Ah, Team RWBY. I assume you're ready for today's tests?" Ruby nodded, "Very well. Follow me and we shall begin your first written exam." With that, Ozpin left signaling them to follow.

He led the girls down to a fairly small classroom. It held only a few desks, and even fewer chairs. "Professor Peach will be in shortly to give you the exam, Ruby. The rest of you are welcome to stay, if you'd like, on the condition that you do not interfere with the testing in any way." The team nodded. "Very good. I'll leave you all alone until the end of this test, then we shall discuss in detail the next portion. Good luck, Miss Rose." Ruby nodded in thanks and Ozpin left.

"So, Ruby," Yang started, "Do you want us to stay in here or not?" Ruby thought for a moment.

"Think you could wait outside? I don't want to feel rushed with this..." Her team nodded and began to exit the room, "Wait! I don't mean to leave, yet. Stay until I get the test." Her teammates looked at each other, then their leader and nodded. No telling how long until Peach would get there, Ruby didn't want to be alone for an extended period of time.

Unfortunately, the time was spent in mostly awkward silence. Ruby didn't talk much, as she felt as though she had nothing to say. She wanted the company of friends, or at least, those who she has been told were friends.

On the bright side, it wasn't a long time spent before Peach entered the room. "Ah, hello there." She began, "I'm professor Peach, nice to meet you... again, Ruby." She extended a hand, which Ruby returned. "I'm here to give you your exam today." She turned to the others, "Will you be staying for the test or leaving?" The team turned to their leader and nodded.

"We'll be outside waiting, professor." Weiss said. Peach nodded and gestured for them to leave. The sooner Ruby could begin, the faster they can begin the next few tests.

The team left the classroom, and found that Ozpin had been gracious enough to give the girls chairs in the hall. Yang had a slight smile on her face. The chairs weren't there (at least, they didn't notice the chairs) when they first walked in. Each member sat down, Blake pulled out a book; Weiss, her scroll; while Yang just sat there, not doing anything. She began to lose herself in thought.

'What if we can't help Ruby?'

'What if she's like this?'

'Why can't I figure this out?!' She hadn't had time to think about things these last few days, only put pieces together and attempt to figure out what happened to her sister, using what she could gather.

According to Blake, the 'cold' that Ruby felt in the visions she had was fear. She was confused, unable to figure out what happened and was scared. When she heard her teammates, she was certain she could find answers. But when she was still left in the dark, she feared; when she feared, she was alone.

As for the visions, Blake confirmed that it was her mind attempting to remember who the voices speaking were. She was certain, without the possibility of doubt, that she knew them. However, she could not remember faces except when they were in memories. So those memories replayed themselves, in a futile attempt to remember.

Blake wanted to press Ruby a little more, to try and figure out what was going on in her mind, before, during and after the incident with the Deathstalker. But the nurses wouldn't allow it. The moment Ruby showed signs of weariness they kicked out her teammates. They wanted their patient to have as much rest as possible. Much to her teammates dismay, they understood.

Blake noticed Yang's unease and put a hand on her shoulder, "You alright?"

"Yeah," Yang lied, "I'm fine." She got a cold stare from Blake who saw right through Yang. She sighed, "Fine, I'm not entirely ok. Happy now?" Blake still didn't relent, "What do you want from me?!"

"I want to know what's wrong?"

Again, Yang sighed, "I'm just having a little bit of a tough time with this. I just... It's tough for me to accept the inevitability that I _can't_ help my sister."

"Yang," Weiss began, "You know that way of thinking is flawed, right?" Yang just looked up at the heiress quizzically, "Believe me, there will be a way for you to help her. If not to bring her memory back then you'll be able to help her make new ones. Besides, it's just the last year, it's not like she lost an entire lifetime."

"It's still a year of memories, damn good ones too."

"How about the breach?" Weiss said, "Remember how many nightmares she's been having recently? She can't cope with all of the..." Weiss stopped and came to a realization, her teammates matched her look, understanding the same thing. "Could she be repressing this... because of the Breach?"

"It... It's entirely certain, Weiss..." Blake said, "Her nightmares have been getting progressively worse... Maybe her mind saw a way out of them."

Yang let all of the information sink in, leaning back in her chair. She looked to her teammates, and in her mind, she thought only one thing: Disgust.

Disgust in herself. She saw the signs; Ruby's nightmares _had_ been getting worse and worse lately. It wasn't uncommon, each of the girls had their fair share of them. And they would all help their teammate through the issue. Ruby, however, pushed everyone away, not letting them in, hiding it. Yang knew this weeks ago... And still did nothing. She knew she should have pressed on, pushed for answers. It's different for a sister to force the issue out than a teammate.

"Yang," Weiss called, "Are you ok?"

"I-It's my fault," Yang said, choking up, "I knew... I fucking knew!"

"Hey, hey hey hey," Blake said quickly, attempting to calm down her partner, "It's not your fault. If anything we all have the blame. We all saw the signs, we all knew. Yet we did nothing, we _let_ her be when she said for it, even when it was evident she needed help. It's _not_ your fault, Yang."

Yang didn't take this information very well. Blake's attempt at calming the young Huntress was futile. The brawler continued to blame herself and it was clear to the others. Blake, doing the only thing she knew how to do in order to deal with Yang (Compliments to her leader) pulled Yang into a hug.

They even got Weiss to join in.

"Blake's right, Yang," Weiss assured her, "We all knew... We're all guilty." Yang, finally, gave in. She didn't want the blame of failure to fall onto her teammates. This was an issue that sisters, who knew each other best, would have to work out. Obviously, her method of thinking was wrong.

Weiss was the first to pull away from the hug and announced that she would report to Ozpin. He would need to know what they have figured out in order to assist the overall treatment. Moments after she left, Blake and Yang finally broke off the embrace. Taking their seats in silence, they waited patiently for Ruby. Neither of them knew how long this test would take.

They didn't have to wait long before something happened, as Yang's scroll began going off. "That can't be Weiss, can it?" She asked. Blake just shrugged and gestured to answer it. The name that came up was Pyrrha's. Yang quickly answered,

"Hey, Pyrrha. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," She responded, "We just saw Weiss hauling ass and all hell over to Ozpin's office. She wouldn't even stop to say 'hi' to Nora. What's going on?"

Yang quickly slapped her forehead. They had completely forgotten to keep all of JNPR in the loop with Ruby. All they knew was that she had amnesia, nothing about the tests or anything thereafter. "Uh, we figured something out with Ruby, something that Ozpin needs to know..."

"Oh? Wanna fill us in? Like you _said you would?_

"Yeah... This is gonna be a long story... so..." Yang had to start somewhere with this without breaking her promise to them and without telling them about Ruby's nightmares. "This is going to be tough to explain..."

Weiss had began a very fast speed walk, almost a run even, straight to Ozpin's office. She stopped for nothing, completely ignored Team JNPR (which hurt to do) and even mowed some people down. Anything and everything in her way was in danger, time was of the essence.

'Wait,' She thought, 'why don't I just call him?' She slapped her forehead, realizing how much of an idiot she was. 'Ruby, you're rubbing off on me... Stop it!' She began to pull up Ozpin in the Scroll's directory, then realized she was almost fifty feet from the tower that lead to his office. She said and began walking.

On her way in, she was stopped by Glynda Goodwitch. "Miss Schnee, what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I need to see Professor Ozpin right now!" She said, urgency clear in her voice, "We may know what caused the amnesia!"

Goodwitch's eye's went wide, and she nodded in understanding. Opening the elevator, she gestured for Weiss to enter. Goodwitch then put her scroll on the terminal and almost immediately they were going up.

"So," She began, "What do you think is the issue... And why didn't you just call?"

Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I didn't think about calling until I was already here." Goodwitch just chuckled, "As for the issue... We think the Breach had an... effect on her..."

"An effect?" Goodwitch repeated, "Elaborate?"

"Can I say it when we get to Ozpin, please? I don't want to repeat myself." Goodwitch nodded in understanding.

After another minute of silence, the door opened and they were right outside Ozpin's office. Goodwitch knocked on the door and entered, not even waiting for Ozpin to respond.

"Glynda." He said calmly, "You have entered without waiting for a response in a long time, what is the...?" He then saw Weiss. "Ah, Miss Schnee. Is there something wrong?"

"On the contrary," Weiss began, "We think we know what's wrong with Ruby." Ozpin gestured to go on, "We think... We think it was the Breach, sir."

"Excuse me? What do mean by that?"

"Ok, I'm going to go and... Not be Weiss for a moment..." Ozpin raised an eyebrow, but knew what was going to come so gestured to continue, "Ok, check this out! Ruby and Professor Oobleck stayed on top of the train to keep the White Fang off of us. She knocked a lot... I will emphasize _a lot_, off of the train." Ozpin nodded, "Then the train went through the wall. There were a great many people standing around, and when we came to, the Grimm started pouring out of the hole the train made."

Weiss stopped for a moment, allowing Ozpin to absorb the information. "So, what you're saying, Miss Schnee, is that Ruby-"

"Wanted to forget, sir." Weiss interrupted, "She had been having, bad nightmares recently. She told us not to worry about it, it happens with all of us. We just thought it wasn't much and went by her wishes. We think that what she did... How many people she threw off and how many people she saw get hurt..."

"It caused those nightmares..." Ozpin said, making the same realization that the others made. "This information is... Troubling, to say the least. But it gives us a foreground to begin helping her." A small 'bing' was heard and Goodwitch reached for her scroll.

"Professor Ozpin!" She began, "Miss Rose has finished her exam and is ready for the physical portion."

Ozpin nodded, "Very well. Glynda, prepare the combat arena and lock the room up. These next few hours will be a private match. Call Peter and tell him to bring his... Pets to the arena." Goodwitch nodded and began making arrangements, leaving the two. "Miss Schnee!" Ozpin called, "Join me, if you will. You'll be fighting with your leader very soon."

Weiss nodded and followed Ozpin out.

Yang had finally hung up with Pyrrha. Blake had tried to help her through the conversation and was greatly relieved when Pyrrha finally had given up trying to understand what she was being told and just accepted the information given. Yang didn't want to disclose her sisters personal life, with the nightmares, at least, but still gave enough on what they believe the underlying cause of amnesia is.

"Well," Blake sighed, "I think Weiss might be able to sleep a little easier..."

"Hm?" Yang hummed, "Why's that?"

"Oh, she's been dreading the fact that she, and her harsh words, might be the cause for the amnesia." Blake chuckled, "Ruby's comment yesterday almost totally proved that.

It was Yang's turn to chuckle, "She... She honestly believed that?" Blake nodded, "Wow. And here I was thinking she didn't have a heart."

"If she does it's frozen in permafrost." Yang almost broke down completely. Blake had been waiting so long to use that and was glad to see it had a good effect.

Without warning, the door swung open. Yang and Blake were sure Peach was coming out to yell at them for being too loud. Peach walked out and looked at the two, "Your leader has completed her test, girls." The pair took a simultaneous sigh of relief. Ruby walked out behind Peach and approached her teammates.

"So," She began, "What was so funny?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Oh," Yang started, "It was a joke about Weiss, is all..."

"Let me hear it."

"Ok, Blake said 'If she had a heart it would be frozen in permafrost by now.'" Yang started to crack up again. Ruby just glared at the two. "You-You're not laughing." Yang choked out.

"That didn't seem very nice." And then Yang and Blake realized it. Ruby doesn't fully remember how much of a bitch Weiss can be. "Actually, I'm surprised that came from you, Blake."

Blake hung her head in shame. Yang attempted to defend her, however. "No, it's nothing like that! It's just, you don't remember the 'Weiss Schnee experience'."

"Mhm." Ruby said, "Another thing I don't remember."

Those words hit Yang like a MAC Truck. "I-uh, It's-!"

"Don't." Ruby said firmly. Yang was mentally kicking herself for saying that. She had completely forgotten everything in the span of seconds and all logic went out the window.

"Sorry." Yang apologized after the harsh scolding given by her sister.

"Ahem!" A voice from down the hall got the girls' attention. "I understand you have completed your test, Miss Rose." Ruby stood and nodded. "Excellent. Then I will allow you to choose your next test, which is a physical one. Do you want to face waves of Grimm with your teammates, or spar with them instead? The one you don't do now will be the one you do later tonight."

Ruby thought for a moment, looked to her teammates, then to Ozpin. "I'll fight with them now, and fight them later."

"Very well!" Ozpin said, "Follow me girls." The group followed, Yang in front, Ruby to her right, Blake behind Ruby and Weiss next to Ozpin.

They walked across the courtyard to the arena. After entering Ozpin gestured towards the locker room. "Once you change into your combat attire enter the arena. I will explain your fight then." Ruby nodded and went to the locker room. Yang followed closely.

"Do you really have to?"

"You may need help." Ruby kept a quizzical stare at her sister as they walked inside. The sister's lockers were right next to each other. Ruby then realized...

She doesn't remember her code.

Looking towards her sister, Yang knew instantly the problem. "I told ya." Ruby just shook her head in mild annoyance. "Hey, what's wrong? You've been very quiet today." Ruby stayed quiet. "Hey," Yang nudged her after opening her locker, "Come on... You nervous?"

"No."

"Then what's up?"

"It's just... I know how I'm going to fight alone and with you... I'm just not sure about Blake and... Wise?"

"Weiss." Yang sighed, "She's gonna whoop you if you don't learn that."

Ruby chuckled, "I'd like to see her try."

"Whatever you say, sis." Yang said, slapping her sister on the back. "I'm going to go take my seat. Don't worry too much about the other person. Just let the fight happen and work with them. I promise you'll do fine."

"Easy for you to say." Ruby muttered. Yang left, leaving Ruby to take a moment to herself before entering the ring. 'How am I supposed to let the fight happen and go with it if I don't remember any maneuvers? How can I fight with them if I don't know who they are, let alone how they fight?'

Ruby shook these thoughts away from herself and stood up. Now was the time to fight. She looked at the clock. "Two o'clock," She said out loud, "Well, it's now or never."

* * *

><p><strong>Well then... <strong>

**Ruby's got a bit of an attitude to her, doesn't she? This is not how she will act throughout the entirety of the story, so if you read this and said "Damn I don't like this Ruby." Don't worry, friend. She's not here to stay.**

**I also used the theory on the Breach that I saw on the RWBY subreddit. I think it worked very well for the story. Allows for some expansion of thought in terms of theories and issues, right? Right. **

**So! I also put some thought into that ship... Ok, I am HORRIBLE at shipping, romance, any of that. If I am going to do it, which I will hint it a few times in the near future, it won't be anything big. Actually, it may just be absolutely terrible (probably the latter... You have been warned). **

**Ok! I'm done rambling. How was this episode? A lot of plot building went into this. Next chapter is the first fight and it's not bad starting out. A lot less dialogue, but also a lot of just text. It doesn't really do much to move the plot, other than give you an idea of where Ruby is at. It will take some time because I need to move things around and make it not so "generic". **

**On that note, I thank you for reading and bid you farewell! **

**Until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6! Up way later than I intended. Sorry. **

**Enjoy**

* * *

><p>Ruby walked out onto the training room floor and looked out. Professor's Glynda Goodwitch and Peter Port were down on the floor with her. Above, in the stands, stood her team and Ozpin.<p>

"Ahem," Ozpin began, "Congratulations are in order, Miss Rose. Now, we will get the more grueling challenge."

"Great," Ruby muttered, "As if two hours of testing wasn't grueling enough." She earned a chuckle from the two professors down with her.

"I digress, this next portion of the test will test or abilities in combat against Grimm. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Port, we have a wide array of Grimm for you to fight, so don't worry about running low. This will be a Gauntlet. You will start alone, then after each round is called by Professor Goodwitch, one of your team members will join in. After each round is complete, the members will tag out with each other. In the final round all of your teammates will join you as Professor Port will unleash anything left."

Ruby nodded in understanding. This Gauntlet sounded rather simple. Her only concern was Blake and Weiss. Fighting with them was no big deal, save for the fact that she can't remember how they fight.

"When you are ready, give your friends below the signal, and we shall begin." Ruby looked to Goodwitch and Port and nodded. The two moved into a position where they will be out of the way from the fight and a door opened. From the door, burning red eyes were seen and lots of growling heard.

"Miss Rose!" Port called, "They may or may not have been fed anything in a while! So... Be wary." He said cryptically. Goodwitch gave him a concerned look, which he ignored.

The Beowolves charged out at Ruby. She drew Crescent Rose but kept it in shotgun form. Dodging one Beowolf, she shot forward. A signal round mowing through 3 wolves. She turned, ducked, and made a sweep of her leg, sending her into a 360. After turning back to the falling Grimm, she pointed her gun, fired, and let the momentum of the gun carry her into a back roll. Returning to her feet, she turned to find that she smacked down a poor unsuspecting wolf. She looked down, around, realized there was no immediate threat (Regardless of the Grimm around her), and executed the Grimm before he could get back up.

Yang, Blake and Weiss all turned and nodded, rather impressed with the display going on before them.

Ruby did not relent. She still held back, however. Not showing her true skill with her scythe. 'Simple enough,' She thought, 'I'm sure it'll pick up, though. It has to, right?' Finishing her thought, she extended Crescent Rose to full scythe. 'Alright, baby, let's dance."

She shot behind her, giving herself enough of a boost forward to run over a line of Beowolves. She ran up the wall, not stopping her momentum, and yelled "Strike!" She pushed herself off the wall, she turned the blunt end forward and brought it down on the last Beowolf.

Turning to her audience she barely looked out of breath. 'Too easy.' She thought to herself.

"Well done, Miss Rose." Ozpin called, "Maybe that was a bit easy for a prodigy of your caliber..."

'Did he just call me...?'

"Let's see what else we have in our solo round?" Ozpin gestured to Port who nodded. Goodwitch watched her student and her reactions. Glynda's job here is mainly to observe and document, but also to provide medical aide if need be. Port pressed a button on the tablet and another door opened. This time, there were Beowolf Alphas and Ursi together.

'Damn, Alphas...' Ruby thought, 'Ok, you have five seconds before they notice you, girl. Go for the bigger ones first, always. That'll make everything easier...' That was the one thing her uncle lorded over her in training: Always hit the bigger ones first if you can. They won't be as much of a pain if you can take them out quickly.

Ruby, staying true to her training, charged forward, calling on a slight amount of her semblance to give her an extra boost with the Ursa in front of her. She zoomed past the Beowolves and struck the first of the Ursi, the one she saw to be the pack leader. The biggest ones were always the leaders, in cases of Grimm and people.

Crescent Roses blades struck deep into the gut of the Ursa. Ruby, again using her momentum, swung around and fired off a round, splitting the beast in two. She went on to the next and swung her blade around, cutting up one, two, then three Ursa. Turning, she now saw the Beowolves charging.

"Couldn't wait for your turn, eh?" She said, "Fine! Try it!" She swept her scythe in a horizontal arc, cutting down the first group. She then spun, lodging the blade around the neck of a Beowolf, shot off and stuck the spear end of the shaft right through another wolf.

"Ohh," Yang said, "That'll leave a mark!"

"If she's lucky that'll leave a little more than a mark..." Weiss said, "Has she always been this good?"

"Solo? Yeah. It's teamed fighting that's always been a problem area with her. When we fight her, we can't do it alone. That one on one gauntlet idea he has will crush us. When we fight together, we may have a chance."

Weiss nodded, considering her possibilities. "We'll start planning as soon as we can, then." She thought out loud. As she thought, a buzzer rang out. All of the girls turned their attention to the training floor, where the dismembered bodies of countless Grimm lay dissipating. Ruby stood, now beginning to show her fatigue.

"Is that all?" She called to Ozpin, who shook his head.

"That is all for now. Take a rest, get some water. Miss Schnee, please head down to the training room floor. Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long, prepare yourselves." Weiss stood up and moved to the locker room. Yang and Blake still sat.

"How long was that solo round?" Yang asked, "It couldn't have been too long?"

"About twenty minutes," Blake said, checking her scroll, "At this rate, we'll be having an early dinner."

"Ah, you may wish, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said, standing above the two, "But this Gauntlet is far from over. And she still has one last written test to take after this."

"Isn't this... I don't know, a little much?" Yang asked.

"Not at all. She must show how much she remembers in terms of fighting with her teammates."

"Why against?" Blake inquired.

"More combat experience retention, Miss Belladonna. Fighting Grimm is one thing, but people, as some hunters have happen, is another." Blake nodded, fully understanding now. "If you will excuse me, I believe Miss Schnee has taken the floor." With that, Ozpin left to his podium yet again.

Weiss was currently speaking with Ruby on what they will do. Ruby was intently listening, but currently staring down the beasts beyond the next door. She could see their eyes, so many of them.

"Hey!" Weiss called, "Are you even listening?"

"Yes!" Ruby assured, "You're going to hang back and give me some support while I run in and basically distract them."

Weiss was impressed, "Well, you don't have to play the distraction bit all day with this, you know? You _can_ have a little fun with them if you want...?" Ruby smirked.

"Oh, don't worry about me."

Weiss nodded and gestured to Port, who returned her gesture with a nod. Pressing the same keys as before, the door opened, unleashing more Grimm.

Weiss prepared her glyphs and went into a readied stance. Nodding to Ruby, who rushed at the Grimm at almost break-neck speeds. Weiss had only seconds to figure out which Grimm was hers to take down, as Ruby was all over the place. Sending a few stars downrange, she pierced the chest cavities of a few Beowolves on the outside of the group to avoid friendly fire towards Ruby.

Ruby had underestimated Weiss' abilities. She took her eyes off of her fight for a fraction of a second, impressed with how the heiress controlled the magic. She noticed how Weiss was left handed, just like her... Wait... she knew that...

This distraction cost Ruby, as she turned back to see the back of a Beowolves claw in her face. The impact sent her back a couple feet, bouncing like a rock being skipped on a lake. She landed on her her feet immediately, gesturing to Weiss that she would get some payback for that.

Weiss watched on, the Beowolf that struck Ruby was the last one standing. She was a mere hand motion away from burning the Grimm alive, but Ruby stopped her and wasn't taking her time with this. It's not every day you take a hit, and when you do, no matter the circumstance, it's rather embarrassing. Ruby spun her scythe with ease, decapitating the Beowolf on the spot.

Looking around, the partners found nothing left standing. They truly made quick work. "Remarkable," Ozpin said, "That is why I made you two partners, Miss Schnee." Weiss blushed, remembering what she said to Ruby early in the year. "Professor Port, is there anything left in your reserves?" Port shook his head, "Very well. Miss Belladonna! Trade places with Miss Schnee. Ruby, you may take a ten minute break to rest."

Blake began to move to the locker rooms, as did Weiss. Ruby moved to the arena podium where Goodwitch and Port were standing. At the stairs were the water jugs. Goodwitch met Ruby at the station, "Miss Rose, how are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" Ruby asked, Goodwitch nodded, "I'm still kinda nervous. Weiss was kind enough to tell me what her plan was, but I'm not sure if Blake or even Yang would. I was kinda hoping to see them fight before fighting with them, that way I knew what I was getting into."

Glynda nodded, "I understand this must be tough, but your worries are misplaced, Ruby." Ruby gave her a quizzical expression, "Your teammates spent almost a full year training with you. You may not remember _their_ moves, but they remember _yours_." Glynda assured, "All you have to worry about is completing the test. And remember, take your time. Don't stress yourself too much, and listen to your body. Your mind may not be aware of what your capable of, but your muscles will. Don't hold back by thinking you can't."

Ruby nodded, "Thanks. I noticed I _can_ move faster than I remember. I guess I'm lighter on my feet. That's what a year of work will do, I guess." Glynda chuckled, but deep down felt sorry for the girl. Fighting is one thing, but Ruby isn't sure what her limits are. She's holding back, but out of fear. Soon she will soon get overconfident and go past her boundaries.

Goodwitch returned to the podium with Port standing idly by, waiting the signal. Blake had made her way to the floor and patted Ruby on the back to get her attention. Ruby, who was taking a drink, quickly turned in surprise.

"Wow," She said, choking on her drink, "you _are_ quiet. Yang was right."

"I have tendencies to not be seen... Or heard." Blake responded.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ruby looked up to Port and back to Blake, "Ok, we don't have long now. How do you want to fight? Actually, how _do_ you fight?"

"I'm close quarter, but my weapon has an extreme reach, as yours does." Ruby nodded, "Since we're both going to be up close... Wanna try something?" Ruby turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Here, follow me."

Ozpin looked down and noticed they had take a stance. Port, too, noticed this. He hit a few keys and the third door opened up. "Begin!" Ozpin called.

Ruby and Blake wasted no time stopping these Grimm from exiting their would-be cage. Firing off both of their guns into the doorway, any poor Beowolf or Ursa caught in between the doorway was cut down. Eventually, however, the two ran out of ammo, and the Grimm started pouring out.

"Aw, man." Yang said, pouting, "Blake took my idea!"

Ruby and Blake charged ahead, going to their Plan B. Ruby, with Crescent Rose full extended, took left, while Blake, using both blades of Gambol Shroud, took right. The few Grimm that were left were met with quick ends.

Ruby decimated them by spinning her blade vertically, cutting them apart.

Blade chose to stay true to her assassin nature, any Grimm that dared charge were juked by her semblance. Blade would find herself close behind, or even on top of, a few Beowolfs. Each one was cut in half.

The last three Grimm that remained were Ursa majors. Bigger than the ones Ruby fought in her solo round. The duo turned to each other and nodded. No words were exchanged.

Blake jumped back whilst Ruby charged ahead. Ruby looked back, realized her miscommunication, but it was too late. All she could do was brace for the beat down that was to come. She put the shaft of Crescent Rose in front of her, attempting to deflect what she could. The Ursa brought its massive claw down, while another snuck around her. Ruby cursed and prepared herself. The Ursa rammed her back with its skull, sending her flying forward. She used the momentum she had to do a back flip and land on her feet. Turning, she met red, burning eyes, but saw past them to see Blake's concerned, amber eyes.

"Well," Blake thought out loud, "That... Might work out better than intended." She charged, this time in sync with Ruby who had cut down the middle Ursa and prepared to do the same to the one on Blake's right. Blake quickly turned left, casted a shadow, and found herself to the Ursa's back. She plunged her blade through its spine. The beast let loose a howl of pain and dropped dead. She turned to see Ruby watching.

"Wow..." Ruby said, awestruck, "That was... Brutal..."

Blake blushed, "Thanks. I try."

"Very good, ladies." Ozpin said, "You are all making very quick work of this test. I had hoped we would still be fighting well into the five o'clock hour." He chuckled, "I still underestimate your abilities. Miss Belladonna, please trade positions with Miss Xiao Long." Blake complied.

"See ya, Blake." Ruby called. Blake turned to wave goodbye.

Walking into the locker rooms, she saw Yang quickly working her way to her locker. "Hey Blake!" She said. "You two looked good out there!"

"Thanks." Blake said, "She works well with another close-quarter fighter. Though communication should be better..."

"Aw, she's nervous. She's barely had a lot of time to talk to you or Weiss. It's like we all just met, you know?" Blake nodded, "Communication is tough but it'll get easier as she eases into all of this. I think she's handling herself very well considering."

"Speaking of which," Blake said, "she's handled her issue quite well, if I do say."

"Yeah, she has... Hasn't she?" Yang drifted in thought, "Anyway." She shook herself out of her stupor, "You better get up there. Weiss wants to take bets how fast Rubes and I will be!"

Blake nodded, turning to the stairs. "Oh hey!" Yang called, Blake turned to face her, "Um... I can't believe I haven't asked this yet... but... You- being a faunus and all-?" Blake nodded questioningly, "Do you have a tail?"

Yang braced herself, expected both a verbal and physical beat down from her partner. Instead, Blake just looked at her, "I'm surprised you or Ruby didn't ask earlier," She chuckled, fully understanding why Yang asked, "No, I don't." Yang nodded in thanks and walked to the arena. Blake shook her head and smiled. "Those two..."

Yang found Ruby at the water station talking with Professor Goodwitch.

Ruby turned to her sister and smiled, "Hey, Yang."

"Miss Xiao Long. I was just asking Ruby how she was feeling."

"Oh, and?"

"Fine," Ruby said easily, "Not as nervous now that I'm fighting with someone who I can remember." Yang pulled her sister into a one armed hug (More like a headlock). "This still isn't helping, though!" Yang released her and blushed, Goodwitch just laughed.

Ruby and Yang departed from the water station, moving to take their place at the center. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Aw, come on! I just-"

"No." Yang interrupted, rather sternly, "I mean how are you _feeling_?"

"Oh..." Ruby said, "Feeling, feeling. I, uh- well..."

"Nervous, still?"  
>"Scared is more like it."<p>

"Ruby," Yang started, "Ozpin gave us the next few days off to help you out with this. No matter what happened, you are a member of this team and a member enrolled at this school. You earned your way here, and we are all going to help you through this." She assured. Ruby sighed, but nodded.

"Ok," she almost choked up, "Ok, I believe you." Yang pulled her sister into a lighter one armed hug and guided her into position on the floor.

"Are you ready, now?" Ozpin asked. The sisters nodded and Port opened the final door. "Good luck."

Ruby and Yang took their stances. There was an upside fighting alongside the person you spent your entire life with: You know their moves and vise versa. The two dispersed, taking two different sides.

Yang, cocking Ember Celica, punched a Beowolf away with a blast of fire. Another tried to avenge its now charred brother, only to receive a vicious kick to the lower end, then a punch in its face for good measure. Flying back, its claws ripped through the faces to its brothers (May or may not have been intended).

Ruby was tearing the Beowolves apart on her end. She now could use her speed semblance without worry of accidentally hurting her other comrades. With Yang, she could easily judge which way she could move to avoid accidental... Let's not get into that.

Ruby was turning and firing, turning and firing, over and over again. She would stop short of a Grimm (Beowolf or Ursa, she didn't want to waste ammo), fire off, giving her a boost forward where she would turn slightly to throw her body into a spin, thus making a twister of brutality.

By the time she came to a stop, Yang had caught up to her, finishing off the last of the Ursa. The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Well," Ozpin said, sighing, "You have successfully managed to throw off my entire schedule for the evening... Well done." He smiled, "I had intended for you all to fight off a couple of waves of Grimm, but I can tell as that won't be necessary. I have all of the data analysis I need for this portion. It is currently twenty minutes past four o'clock, you have all earned a meal. Miss Rose, at five thirty you will finish your last written test, and whenever that is complete you will fight against your team." Everyone nodded.

It hadn't take Ruby and Yang long to meet up with their teammates. The team left for the cafeteria. An hour was essentially how long they had to eat and rest before taking Ruby back to the classroom.

"I wonder why he didn't have us all fight?" Ruby asked.

"Probably saw how pointless it was. That entire thing was _way_ too easy for us!" Yang said cheerfully.

"I bet they ran out of Grimm," Blake said idly, "They did sneak a few extra in there now and again."

"It doesn't matter," Weiss announced, "What matters is that the test is complete and we have just over an hour to eat before getting you," she pointed at Ruby, "back to the class. So let's go! We can't waste time!"

Weiss almost sped away from the three. Blake pinched the bridge of her nose while Yang hung her head, "We've created a monster, Blake."

"Yes... Yes we did, didn't we?"

Ruby just shook her head, "Come on, let's not keep her waiting. She _is_ our leader for the time being, after all."

Ruby left to catch up with Weiss, Blake followed quickly, not looking forward to the verbal lashing Weiss would give. Yang just hung back, still hanging her head, "Man, this is depressing. I liked it better when _I_ was the leader!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so that was... interesting. I feel like I still could have worked on it to make less, I dunno, clunky? It may be me over thinking my own work. <strong>

**So, a few things I want to discuss:**

**From the reviews: **

**Raven: I hear you. Believe me, I'm probably not going to do anything romantic. I hate romance. It sucks. But I will hint some things here and there, but at no point will the story ever revolve around romance. **

**Mistic Shadow (Wicked name): I apologize, but I don't have an upload schedule. It honestly works with my RL schedule and how I feel that night (also has to do with whether or not the chapters done). I'm sorry, I try for every Tuesday or Wednesday, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Again, I apologize. **

**NotyourAverage: Same deal. Sorry, but I'm kinda busy and if I can I will. I figured I could do it today as a holiday, work on what I can for the next chapter and have it up over the week. **

**On that note: Midterms are this week. So if something doesn't work out or there isn't a chapter up, then please understand it's because my classes are priorities over this. Thank you for your patience! **

**So, now that those are out of the way, how did you like it? A bit more action in here. Again, not really sure how I did, but I over judge all of my work, so, yeah. If it wasn't as good, please feel free to tell me. I have no issue with being told it wasn't up to what you expected. Next chapter will have a few things: Re-introducing JNPR to Ruby, Ruby taking the last written test, and then the big R v WBY fight! (Oh, this ones gonna be good!) As you can expect, this next one is going to be a big chapter, so don't expect it to be up soon (especially with tests this week, it might be up this weekend, next Sunday at the latest!)**

**Well, I'm off! I hope you all enjoyed. See you next week at the latest!**


	7. Chapter 7

**OH MY GOD ALMOST 7000 WORDS! JESUS.**

**I blew off family and friends because I was on such a roll with this. Ok, I don't have any friends to blow off but my family was overly curious as to what I was writing for so long. Doesn't matter now. **

**This was awesome to write. I feel like I captured many many points in this, and although I do wish it was shorter in length, there was no place for me to cut it. It was either going to be too short or too long, so I figured "Eh, screw it." **

**So, without further delay, enjoy the sheer power and magnitude of over 6,800 words of writing! **

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Yang to realize her teammates weren't actually going to wait for her, so she began to catch up. Ruby was following Blake and Weiss closely, not hoping to get lost anywhere.<p>

"About time you caught up!" Weiss scolded Yang while still walking, "We were thinking you were going to skip out on dinner."

"Oh please, miss a meal? Me?" Yang laughed, "You really are crazy!"

"Who says I'm crazy?!" Weiss shouted, stopping in her tracks and turning to face Yang.

"I think you just did." Blake said simply, walking past Weiss. Ruby chuckled and followed Blake, while Yang stood with Weiss.

"I think you just got schooled, Weiss."

"Yeah..." Weiss said quietly, "Yeah, I think I did, didn't I? Hm, she wants to play like _that_, eh?" She turned back to catch up with Blake and Ruby, Yang in tow.

They made it to the cafeteria, one of the first teams in. 'Wow,' Ruby thought. Her teammates moved into the kitchen and she followed suit. The cafeteria staff served a ham steak dinner special that night, to which the team was more than gracious for.

"Oh hey!" Yang called after receiving her food, "I almost forgot, Team JNPR will be joining us."

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Our sister team." Weiss answered, "Their dorm is right across the hall from ours. You'll find them to be as helpful as any of us." She assured. Ruby nodded and followed her team out to the tables.

They hadn't sat down for more than a minute before Nora came charging in, "RUBY!" She shouted. The younger girl turned, hearing her name, and was almost tackled out of her seat, "Your alive! You're alive you're alive you're alive!" Nora shouted, not intent on releasing Ruby.

"Nora!" Yang shouted back, trying to pry the girl off, "Bear hugs are _my_ job, back off!" Nora refused to comply, her hug not really crushing Ruby, like Yang's, but were still tight.

"Nora!" Ren called, finally catching up to her, "Ah, get off, Nora. She's trying to eat."

"Jeez, Ren I thought you said you'd keep her on a tight leash?" Yang asked, still trying to pry the girl off of her sister.

"She chewed through it." Ren just tapped Nora on the shoulder and she snapped to attention, giving a mock salute. Ruby caught her breath, trying to recover from the ambush. Pyrrha and Jaune finally caught up to their teammates.

"Well, that's one way to re-introduce ourselves." Pyrrha said, chuckling. She extended a hand to Ruby, who was still a tad dumbfounded at what just happened. "Pyrrha Nikos."

Ruby shook her hand, "Nice to meet you... Again, I guess?" Pyrrha chuckled.

"I see you've gotten acquainted with Nora and Ren again." Nora waved and Ren nodded. Ruby returned the nod the both of them. Jaune finally found his way. "And where were you?"

"I- Aw forget it. I could tell you but you wouldn't believe me."

"Try it." Weiss challenged, not moving from her seat or looking away from her meal.

Jaune sighed, "Someone had to keep the dorm room locked, and with Nora bursting out leaving the room in shambles and you two going after her, I had to do a quick pick up and lock and go." He finally took a breath, completing Weiss' challenge.

"Oh?" Pyrrha said slyly, "So when we go back the dorm will be clean?"

"Nope." He admitted, then turned his attention to Ruby, who had been intently listening to the pairs babbling. "Hey there." He nodded. Ruby, again, returned the nod, staying quiet and reserved. Something that was currently bothering both teams.

"Well," Jaune said, breaking the silence, "I think we're going to get some food. Be right back." His team followed. As they left, more people started showing up, slowly but surely. Ruby took a seat between Yang and Blake and across from Weiss.

"Hey," Yang whispered to her sister, "What's up? You've been... different all day?"

"Oh? How am I supposed to be acting right now?" Ruby retorted.

"I dunno, differently? Not like this, that's for sure."

"You can say that again." Weiss said easily, still not looking up from her meal. Blake had pulled out a book and started reading and eating (something she did commonly.)

Ruby just shook her head and smiled, turning to her meal. "I understand your guys' concern, honestly. But you dont need to worry. I'm fine." She assured. Yang saw right through her but wasn't going to bring it up here. This was a private conversation for later.

JNPR didn't take too long to fetch their meals. They sat back down with the RWBY and began eating.

"So," Pyrrha began, "How have the tests been, so far?"

"Meh." Ruby said easily, "The written one was boring. I thought it would be a challenge in some way but it was more common sense stuff. 'What to do if there's an open wound?' 'How do you deal with a crime before authorities arrive?', stuff like that."

"Hm," Pyrrha nodded, "So how about the physical?"

"It went well. We got it done in a faster time than Ozpin intended." Yang answered for her sister, who was currently chewing. Ruby nodded in agreement with Yang.

"I see. And you have more later on?"

"Yeah," Weiss cut in, "It will be the three of us against Ruby with the next physical test."

Nora's eyes lit up, "Oh! This I absolutely _have_ to see! Can we go? Can we? Can we? Canwecanwecanwe?!" She tugged on Ren, shaking him back and forth in his seat.

"No-ra, stoooooop!" He pleaded, being thrown around rather easily. The others began laughing at Ren's misfortune. Eventually, Nora agreed and stopped. "It's Ruby's test. If she wants an audience then fine. If not, then no big deal." He replied calmly.

Nora turned to Ruby, still with a lit up face. Eyes asked the question. Ruby stared into her eyes and chuckled. This girl had so much energy and intensity in her gaze. She shrugged, "I'm ok with it. How about you guys?"

"I think an audience would be fun." Blake said.

"Yeah!" Yang added in, "We need someone to cheer the underdogs on!"

"Who said we'd root for you?" Pyrrha challenged, "I have my bets on Ruby this fight."

Yang just stared at her, "Um... _She_ was the underdog." Pyrrha almost fell out of her seat from laughing, causing Yang to frown. The others started to crack up too.

Seeing her sister physically shaken up by the comment, Ruby decided it was her turn to play the caring role between the two. "It's ok, Yang," she said, "If you're lucky maybe I'll go easy on you." Yang's head turned so fast Ruby could swear she would have whiplash. This caused everyone else to finally lose it.

"I can't even-!" Jaune tried, "I can't breathe!"

After a few moments, everyone regained their composure and sat back down. They were lucky that almost no one was in the cafeteria still. The group made enough of a racket that others would think they were insane.

The silence within the group didn't stay for long, as Pyrrha piped up, "So, Ozpin decided to give you all the week of again?"

"Again?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. He wanted us to try and help Ruby through this." Weiss replied, "Do you guys mind if we-?"

"Not at all," Jaune replied, interrupting her. "Just drop by whenever you have the work." The team nodded and finished their meals. Ruby, beating Yang by almost a full minute on their meal. Blake had been done before everyone else (much to their amazement), and Weiss was the last one done.

"I'll give you call again when we're going to fight, ok?" Yang asked. Pyrrha nodded and gave a thumbs up, still eating.

With that team RWBY left. Yang noted how they had some time to spare before they needed to go back to the classroom. Not enough time to run to the dorm (to Ruby's dismay) but enough time to walk around the campus a bit more. It was Yang's hopes that something would jar Ruby's memories a bit.

They went around the CCT building, and even cut through the library to get to the class. It was mainly a silent trip on Ruby's part. She let her team do much of the talking, almost as if this was a tour for her.

Ruby looked on to many of the buildings and felt a sense of déjà vu. Everything around felt so... familiar. She could definitely say she had been there before but she doesn't recall ever being there.

And she hated it.

She hated everything about this. Her lack of memory, only having everything be familiar. She hated how everyone is treating her, too. They think she can't do anything, even though it's only one year she's lost.

'I'm only hesitant because I don't know the extent of my abilities.' Ruby thought to herself, 'If I could get an understanding of what I can do, then there really wouldn't be too much of an issue.' This wouldn't stop anything though, and she knew it.

They finally made it to the class and walked in. Peach, again, wasn't there yet, so they all hung around.

"According to Ozpin," Weiss began, "This next written test is only forty questions, so it shouldn't take too long." Ruby nodded. "Do you want us outside again?"

"If you don't mind?" Ruby asked, "I still don't want to take a chance on underestimating this." Her team nodded in understanding. Then, the silence entered the room once more. Ruby hated it, too. She wasn't going to stand around this time, either. "So... Is, what was her name? Nora?" The others nodded, "Is she always like that?"

"Oh yeah," Yang said, "She's generally the life of the party. If there isn't a party, then there will be." Ruby nodded.

"And is John always so... I don't know, foolish, at times? He seemed so flustered?"

"It- well," Weiss began, "He's always been like that. He's not exactly the smoothest guy out there."

Ruby let out a quiet 'ah' in understanding. She was about to ask about Pyrrha and Ren, but then Professor Peach entered the room. "Ah, good, you're here!" She exclaimed, "We thought you'd all be down in your dorms."

Weiss shook her head, "Nope. We didn't want Ruby to be late for this."

"Oh please," Peach admonished, "You don't need to worry about that, your about forty five minutes ahead of schedule. You can take as much time as you need!"

Yang hung her head, "Wish we would've known that..."

Peach laughed. "Ok, same deal as last time?" The others nodded, "Good! Now get out!" They left and Peach closed the door behind them. "So," She began, looking at Ruby, "You don't want them in here with you?"

"No." Ruby replied, easily and quickly, "I don't want to feel rushed."

Peach chuckled. 'Smart. Given what kind of test taker you are.' She handed Ruby the scantron and gestured to the seat behind her. Ruby sat and began to take the test. Peach noticed the speed Ruby was taking it on. She wasn't going too fast, but wasn't sticking to one question a minute. Constantly re-reading the question to make sure it was right.

Ruby, on a few occasions, had taken a quick look at the clock above the doorway. Peach thought it was because she heard her teammates, but then she realized she was timing herself. Peach sighed, and moved to Ruby. Slamming her hand down on the girls test, Ruby let out a small yelp in surprise.

"You don't have to do that, you know?" Peach said. Ruby gave a quizzical expression, "Looking at the clock? Timing yourself? I'm here for a reason, you know. It's not stand and look pretty. Don't rush yourself. Don't worry about the time. Your ahead of schedule anyway." Ruby nodded in understanding, and sighed.

Peach shook her head and moved back to the front of the classroom and waited. Still watching Ruby ever closely, she noticed the girl seemed more relaxed, and was taking her time properly. 'I think that's just what she needed.'

It was with that that Peach had a thought. "Miss Rose?" Ruby looked up, "Would you be ok if I stepped out for a moment?" Ruby nodded, and Peach walked out. 'Maybe her team can help her a bit.'

The girls walked out of the class and Peach closed the door behind them. Each one went back to their respectful seats from the previous test. "Well," Yang said, "I guess this is starting to be a thing, now?"

Blake shook her head, "Let's hope not." Weiss agreed.

A few minutes of silence brought the girls some much needed time to themselves. Each one thinking about their leader. She had clearly been acting strange since the hospital. Actually, she's been off all day. Each one was trying to think of their own theory on why this was. But neither could make one that made sense.

"So," Weiss started, "Are we actually going to talk about this? Or will we just stay silent and pretend it's not happening." The other two looked at each other, then to their interim leader and nodded. "So, let's talk then. Why is Ruby acting like this?"

The other two shrugged.

"Well she has to have a reason?"

"Maybe," Blake thought out loud, "Maybe she had a nightmare last night? She does seem to be hiding something and may not be comfortable with talking to anyone." Weiss nodded, but Yang shook her head.

"She would have talked to me at some point today. Don't you think?"

"When, Yang?" Blake asked, "At what point did she have a moment where it was just you two and you weren't concentrated on fighting?" Yang sat back and thought. She knew Blake was right.

"She could also just be a bit overwhelmed with today?" Weiss added, "With everything going on these last few days... I don't know." She sighed, burying her face into her hands.

"No, no," Blake patted Weiss on the back, "That's a good thought. She hasn't had a lot of time the last few days to digest everything. It may just be a case of being overwhelmed is all." She assured the heiress, who reappeared from her hands and nodded.

Before Weiss could give a retort, the door opened. Each of the girls looked in surprise to Professor Peach, who was standing in the doorway. "I'll be right back, now!" She assured Ruby, then closed the door. "Whew. Ok, I don't know about you all, but something is up with her."

"Yeah."

"We know."

"So what are you doing about it?" Peach asked. All three looked to each other, then to her and shrugged. "Uh huh." Peach took the last empty chair. "I can tell, you know? She's very... Off."

"What is she doing in there?" Yang asked, mildly concerned.

"Oh, she kept looking back at the clock. I think she was trying to time herself or something. I don't know, but I had to explain to her that she wasn't being timed."

"And?"

"She calmed down. I think she's just excited is all. Or nervous. probably both." Peach shrugged it off. "That's actually why I'm here right now. I was hoping any of you knew what was up or what you would do about it?"

"Well," Yang thought, "I was going to talk to her later. Maybe when we had some free time?"

"Ok," Peach said, "That's good, but what do you think the issue is?"

Blake spoke up, "We think it's a nightmare. That or she's just overwhelmed by all of this and is acting the way she is because she's annoyed." Peach nodded, accepting this answer. But she knew there was more to it. "We just don't know though. We haven't had a moment to sit down with her." There it was.

"Well," Peach sighed, "I'd suggest you do that as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I enjoy seeing this Ruby. She seems more... Depressed? No. What's the word?"

"Distant?" Blake asked.

"Quiet?" Weiss added.

"Meh, either of those would work."

"Peach, wait!" Blake quickly stood up, stopping peach from going back into the class. "You're good with Alchemy, right?" Peach nodded slowly, "Is there any kind of formula from a drink that would help her in this scenario?"

Peach thought about it for a moment, then looked Blake dead in the eyes, "I don't know. I'll check though. If there's anything at all, you'll be the first person I call." She assured, then walked back into the classroom.

The silence returned to the group. Each one going back into their own minds.

Blake was currently reading one of her psychology books. She had read somewhere in that very book that there was a serum that would sooth the mind, allowing hypnotism to take place easily. If she could hypnotize Ruby properly, then there would be a chance that all memories could return to her at once, bringing her back to normal. Or it could have drastic effects and scar her for life. Blake was trying to figure out how to do this without scarring the girl.

Yang's mind was all over the place. She was trying to think about her sister and her new attitude. Yang was concerned about whether or not it was something they said or did. Ruby hadn't acted like this in a while, but it wasn't Yang's first rodeo. She knew how to talk to Ruby better than anyone, so getting the issue to rise to the surface wouldn't take long. At least, she hoped.

Weiss was concerned for Ruby, but not in the way one might expect. Weiss had decided to take this issue one step at a time. Amnesia is a tricky ordeal, and trying to force memories to light seemed like a bad idea. So instead, Weiss decided that she wouldn't annoy Ruby, rather let it take its course, and when the time comes, then they will deal with it.

No, instead Weiss was more concerned about the three on one that was about to happen. Pyrrha was right, Ruby was going to absolutely destroy them. It didn't take her long to dispatch the Grimm on her own, so they probably wouldn't last long either.

'Uhg,' she thought, 'Ruby would have a plan for this! Come on, Weiss! You've been waiting for a true leadership position for months now! Do something about it!'

"Hey," She said, quietly. It was loud enough to spark the attention of her teammates, at least, "I think I have an idea about the fight later on."

Yang's eyes lit up at mention of the spar. Blake just nodded and gestured Weiss to go on. "Here's the plan:"

By the time Peach got back into the class, Ruby was just over halfway done. There wasn't any big issues, just leadership and tactical decisions one had to make on the fly. It was intriguing to the girl the kind of issues that she might face (at least, the kind of issues that are described there).

Peach silently sat down at her desk in the front of the room. Ruby didn't see any drinks or snacks in her hands, which made her wonder why she left in the first place. 'Was she talking to Yang and the others?' Ruby thought, 'Hmm...' She wasn't sure what to do, but she wasn't going worry about it just yet. 'I will ask Yang about it later.'

Ruby wasn't sure how long she was at it for, but by the time she made it to the end of her test it was rather dark outside. She finished up her test, finalizing the essay question (which she had _no_ idea would be a thing, but whatever.) She looked to Peach, meeting her hawk-like gaze.

'How closely was she watching me?' Ruby thought, rather panicked. 'Jeez.' She walked up to Peach and handed her the paper. Peach nodded, "Ok. Ozpin will be expecting you." Was all she said. Ruby nodded and walked out of the class and closed the door behind her. Turning, she, again, met the gazes of her teammates.

"Hey," She said, sheepishly. "I guess I'm done."

Yang nodded, "Ok. Let me call Pyrrha and get our gambling audience in there. Weiss, Blake, think you could take her?" Blake and Weiss nodded and guided Ruby out.

"Does team... Jupiter?-"

"Juniper." Blake and Weiss both corrected simultaneously.

"- Juniper, right! Do they... Gamble, a lot?"

"Not as much as you and Yang." Weiss corrected quickly. Ruby didn't understand at first, "Over the last year you and Yang played poker with other students, put bets on Grifball games-"

"How much did we win?" Ruby asked, interrupting Weiss. Weiss just stared at her, confused, "How. Much. Did. We. Win?" Ruby repeated slowly.

"Quite a bit." Blake said easily. Ruby smiled and nodded. 'Old habits die hard!' She thought.

After a few moments Blake, Ruby and Weiss made it to the arena. Once again, it was closed for a "Private Match". Professor Goodwitch was outside waiting for them. "Ah, there you are. Professor Peach informed us of your completion." She examined the group more thoroughly, "Where is Miss Xiao Long?"

"Oh, um," Weiss began, "She is calling some... Friends."

"Friends?' Goodwitch asked.

"Team JNPR wanted to watch." Blake said, honestly and quickly, "Ruby didn't mind it and neither did we. Is that a problem?"

Goodwitch thought for a moment, then turned to the team, "I'll allow it. An audience would be nice." The others nodded. Yang and Team JNPR came in quickly and followed Goodwitch inside after exchanging pleasantries.

Team RWBY departed to the locker room, and team JNPR went to the stands. Pyrrha held a piece of paper that held bets from multiple people, Team CFVY, Team SSSN, and, of course, themselves. Each member bounced in their seats as they anxiously awaited what they thought would be the spar of the year.

Team RWBY all entered the locker room together, but stayed apart for the most part. WBY had taken to themselves, discussing the battle plan further. Ruby had found this rather odd. She wasn't expecting the fight to be as much of a blowout as everyone else was saying, but she did find it interesting that her teammates had to discuss an actual battle plan in order to win.

'I guess it'll make things interesting.' Ruby thought, 'I guess I'm going to have to keep on my toes, here.' As she completed her preparations, she concentrated more on her team, trying to keep up a makeshift huddle between them. They were far enough away and had their voices quiet enough to make her really concentrate.

She noticed how every now and again Yang would look over her shoulder at her. Eye contact would be made, but every time they met each other's gaze, Yang would only smile and nod. This didn't concern Ruby, rather it intrigued her.

After a few minutes she realized it was futile to try and listen in on her teammates, so she stood and announced to them to hurry. They had an audience outside. Her teammates nodded and watched Ruby exit the locker room.

"So," Weiss said, standing up, "Are we all ok with this plan?"

"I don't know," Blake said, "This is definitely a long shot, Weiss."

"It'll work," The heiress assured, "Now come on! We have a fight to win!" Blake and Yang, in unison, sighed and followed her out. The plan wasn't so simple. It was to stay on defense, mainly. Triangle formation.

Weiss would be in the back, providing support using her spells. Blake and Yang would take Ruby head on, hopefully being able to distract her long enough for Weiss to get some good shots in. That or they tire her out, thus causing a win by default.

The three walked out to the arena floor. A cheer came from their small audience (mainly Nora). They found Ruby talking with Professor Goodwitch, who appeared to be giving the younger girl a few pointers. The three didn't mind this, mainly because they just didn't know. Both of them were smiling, which confused them more.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Goodwitch said, "Are we ready, now?" All of them nodded, "Perfect. Miss Rose, please take your corner. Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long, please take yours."

Both parties went to their respective sides. Pyrrha and Jaune cheered Ruby on, who only responded with a thumbs up, not taking her eyes off of her competition. Nora was the only one who cheered for WBY. Ren stayed his usual quiet self.

"Well," Yang said, "At least we have some support." The other two just shook their heads. "We just _might_ be the underdogs, here."

"Ahem," A voice called over the P.A. systems, "I suppose we are ready?" All parties nodded, "Very well. Here are the rules for this fight. Professor Goodwitch will be calling it as the official. She _will_ remove you when your Aura gets too low to take you out of danger of serious injury. When you are out, that is it." Ozpin said very sternly, emphasizing the "You're out." portion. "This fight will be one round, no time limit. Does everyone understand the rules?"

Again, all nodded, "Very well. Professor Goodwitch, whenever they are ready." Goodwitch nodded, and stood in between both sides.

"Draw your weapons," She demanded. Everyone did as they were told, "You may begin when I have left the ring." She began taking a few steps back, stopping just before she stepped out. Ruby never took her gaze off of her competition. Blake stayed steadily trained on her young leader, as did Weiss. Yang was watching Goodwitch and her sister, moving her eyes back and forth between the two. "Begin!" Goodwitch finally stepped out, and WBY took their positions. Ruby sat back and watched.

Yang and Blake jumped about ten, maybe fifteen meters ahead of Weiss, who prepared herself for combat. Ruby had only a few seconds to think.

'Tri formation? Really? I thought Yang would've learned.' She laughed to herself, 'Weiss in the back, she'll provide long-range support, given what I've seen of her. The other two will be a distraction for me? Gutsy.' Ruby made up her mind in a second, 'Gotta take Weiss down then wear those two out. Watch out for striking Yang, that won't end well.'

She pointed Crescent Rose behind her and shot, activating her speed semblance too. She moved past Blake and Yang, neither given a chance to react. Ruby turned Crescent Rose's blunt side up and fired off, giving her enough force to smack the unsuspecting heiress backwards hard, sending her to the wall.

Still not giving a chance for Blake or Yang to react, Ruby shot forward, sending herself backwards. 'Good job,' she thought to herself, 'Now you've forced them to the offense. Keep an eye on Weiss, though. She gets up at any point and it's over for you.'

Blake and Yang recognized that the plan has gone down the drain, now positioned themselves to move to the offense. Using a strategy that both of them came up with together, Blake positioned herself to get behind Ruby, while Yang stayed to her focal point. Ruby recognized this, and rolled to keep them both in front.

Ruby kept Weiss in her view off the corner of her eye, making sure the Heiress stays down. According to the monitors, Weiss' Aura wasn't anywhere near gone, and Goodwitch hadn't called her out. She turned her attention back to Yang and Blake, who kept up their attacks.

Yang brought a big right hook, to which Ruby ducked under. While ducking, Ruby swept her leg, tripping her sister, causing Yang's legs to kick Blake. Disoriented, Blake met the wrong end of a body check by Ruby, who had used Crescent Rose to give her a boost. Ruby, again, rolled away, admiring her work.

Neither Yang nor Blake were staying down, and Weiss began to stir. Ruby was about to be in trouble soon and she knew it.

* * *

><p>"Oh!" Nora exclaimed, "This is soooooooooo good!"<p>

"I will admit, Ruby is fighting very well." Ren stated, "Given her condition, her fighting doesn't seem to have taken a hit."

"No," Jaune said, "But I can tell the others have." With that comment, Ruby brought the blade end of her scythe crashing between Blake and Yang. "Man, she's doing a good job of keeping them separated."

"I'll say," Pyrrha said, admiring the younger girls fighting, "If her weapon wasn't so massive I'd like a shot at her."

"I wouldn't regardless of weapon." Ren admitted.

* * *

><p>Weiss began to come to, trying to figure out what the hell just happened to her. Ruby came almost out of nowhere, striking her like a freight train. One second she was on the other side of the room, the next, Weiss is in the wall. 'I guess I should have expected that...' She thought, trying to get to her feet. She watched on as Blake and Yang struggled to keep Ruby at bay.<p>

'Now's my chance.'

Weiss prepared some glyphs, drawing her blade. Blake did a good job of distracting Ruby, but it wasn't long before she was dispatched by the scythe wielder. 'Damn, she's a machine!' Ruby turned her attention to Weiss and smiled. Weiss knew what was coming and hastily made a shielding Glyph in front of her. Using her free hand, she gestured her spells, sending stars forward towards Ruby.

What the heiress didn't realize was Ruby's positioning. The younger girl had kept Yang and Blake together, but distanced. She dispatched Blake right next to Yang, and positioned herself right in front of them. With Weiss' spells on the way, she pointed Crescent Rose to her side, jumping away, leaving Blake and Yang right in the line of fire.

"Oh shit!" Yelled Yang, just before getting leveled. Ruby took a look to the board, both Blake and Yang had taken a dip into the yellow. 'Well, it's something.' She turned to Weiss, and planned to finish her.

Weiss, keeping a shielding glyph at her front also summoned some to her back and sides. Ruby recognized this, thinking the heiress feared her. Pointed her gun downwards, Ruby shot herself up, coming down right in the hole Weiss left at the top of her little shielding circle.

Ruby landed right next to her interim leader, who was too busy holding up the glyphs to react. "Interesting, Wi- Weiss!" Weiss caught Ruby correcting herself, quickly dropped the shields and motioned to strike Ruby with Myrtenaster. Ruby, however, kept her semblance up, and dodged it easily. "Close, but no cigar." Ruby continued to taunt Weiss, who got slightly annoyed.

"You dolt!" She growled, "You could've ended this long ago! Why taunt us?!"

"Simple," Ruby responded with a slight smile, "I need you all up to finish you. If not then you have time to recover and go again." Weiss absorbed this information, and just relished in the thought.

'Oh my- It's genius!' She thought. No sooner did Ruby take the opportunity to kick Weiss towards her fallen teammates. 'Damn! She's walking all over us!' "Get up you two!" Weiss commanded, "We have one chance!" Blake and Yang brought themselves back from their stupor, rising with Weiss.

"Form up! Close now!" The three moved back into their triangle formation, only tighter than before. This was exactly what Ruby was looking for.

Not wasting a minute, Ruby shot forward, body checking Yang, who bumped into Weiss, causing a spell to hit Blake. Ruby jumped onto Blake, who stumbled slightly from the spell, and bounced off of the girls back, causing her to face plant.

Ruby back flipped in between Weiss and Yang, smacking them both down with the blunt end of her weapon. All three combatants dipped into the red, but neither began to give up.

Yang was the first to rise, her eyes turning as red as Ruby's cloak. 'Shit.' Ruby cursed to herself, realizing her mistake. 'Better avoid that, leave her for last.' Weiss was slow to get up, but spun Myrtenaster chamber, coating the blade in Burn dust. Blake just stayed down, not sure of where she was at that point.

Weiss quickly charged to Ruby, gliding her way before Ruby had time to react now. Slashing the air, Ruby easily dodged her attacks, but still felt the intensity of the dust alone. Yang jumped in, punching, firing of Ember Celica rounds. Ruby bounced back, finding one chance. and fired her scythe behind her again, sending the end of the shaft right into Yang's gut. The older sister flew back and into Weiss, sending the heiress back with a hard thud.

"Miss Schnee is out of the match!" Goodwitch called.

'One down,' Ruby thought. Yang kept up her attack. Ruby did her best to avoid her sisters onslaught of fire and vengeance, but it wasn't good enough. Yang, taking a page out of Ruby's book, body checked her sister, sending her flying and causing her to drop Crescent Rose.

Ruby recognized one option only: Operation Supersonic.

It was a plan Uncle Qrow helped her devise. She would, in an event of emergency, Use her semblance to its max potential, pushing the limit. Ruby readied her stance and charged.

She kicked up dust, dirt, debris, anything, and just ran. She ran off of the walls, around Yang, around the arena! Yang tried to keep up, but Ruby was just too fast.

Before even having a moment to react, Yang heard a primal shout. Looking up, she saw Ruby, who somewhere down the line picked up her scythe, coming down with the blunt end of said weapon. 'Well, shit...' Yang thought, bracing for the worst. Ruby, however, decided to spare her sister, and moved the blade slightly to the left. Still had enough force to knock Yang away.

"Miss Xiao Long is out!" Goodwitch called.

"Two down." Ruby said, catching her breathe, "Now, where's-"

"Here" Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud around Ruby's neck.

"Wow," Ruby admonished, "You _really are_ quiet." Blake gave a quiet 'mhm.'. "Well, you don't exactly have me yet..." Ruby positioned Crescent Rose on her would-be assassin, putting the blade to her back.

"Ruby," Blake said, her mind racing, "Yo- You know... If you pull that trigger..."

"Yup..." Ruby said, "It's a risk I'm willing to take, Blake." Ruby smirked, allowing Blake to think for a moment. After just that, the faunus dropped her weapons and raised her hands.

"I forfeit, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch nodded, a shocked look on her face, "V- Very well, Miss Belladonna. Congratulations, Miss Rose. You have won today's spar..."

Ruby bowed. Team Jaune and Nora began cheering again, Pyrrha and Ren stayed in stunned silence.

"Very interesting, Miss Rose," Ozpin said over the P.A. "You have indeed won today. Please, take a moment with your team before heading back to your dorm. Get some rest, and tomorrow we shall have our evaluation complete." Ruby nodded and turned to Blake, who was already helping Yang up. Ruby turned to Weiss and began helping her up.

They disappeared into the locker room shortly after.

* * *

><p>"That was very... Interesting." Ren said.<p>

"I'll say." Pyrrha added, "I'm happy Ruby won, believe me, but that stakes she went to... She pushed herself very far. Did you see how low her Aura got?"

"Yes. I don't think she was paying attention. But at the same time, I don't think she cared. She moved as if she wasn't fatigued at all. It was like her Aura didn't matter to her."

Jaune and Nora nodded with the discussion, neither having anything to add.

"You think the limits she went to will affect her evaluation?" Jaune finally asked.

"Not out place to say, Jaune," Ren said, "But it is definitely a possibility." Jaune nodded.

Not a moment later, Team RWBY arrived from the locker room. Yang holding Ruby in a headlock, one that was damn near impossible to break from. Weiss and Blake were close behind them.

"Great fight out there!" Pyrrha said, "You all looked good!"

"Yeah," Yang said, out of breath, "But Ruby did _way_ better."

"Thanks for that, too." Jaune said, "You helped Pyrrha and I win some Lien."

"How many people bet against me?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Not too many. But there was enough bets made that we still won something." Jaune smiled, so did Pyrrha. Nora pouted next to Ren, neither had chosen Ruby to win. "So, now what?"

"What's now is that we go to out dorm and sleep." Yang said, drawing out the 'sleep'.

"Well good night then."

"Shhh, sleeeep."

"Whatever." Jaune shook his head, still laughing.

JNPR led their sister team back to their dorm in silence. No one wanting to talk to the others about the fight yet. They themselves weren't sure what to make of it.

Both teams got to their respective dorms and said their good nights. It wasn't too late, eight thirty five to be precise, but after one of the most brutal spars they've had to go through, Team RWBY was worn out.

"Ok, team," Weiss said sluggishly, "Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we rest." With that, she toppled over, barely being caught by Yang before hitting the ground.

"Damnit princess!" Yang almost shouted, "I'm too tired for this crap!" She picked Weiss up and dropped her in her bed. Weiss barely made a sound, let alone move. The only thing that stopped Yang from worrying whether or not she was dead was the fact that her chest was moving up and down, symbolizing that she was breathing.

Yang looked back to the door and saw Ruby leaning against the wall, getting an eyeful of the dorm. "Sis?" Yang called quietly, "You ok?"

"I... I dunno." She replied. Yang was concerned, "I know I've been here and it seems familiar, I just... I-"

"Stop." Yang said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Don't worry about any of that now, ok? Sleep now and tomorrow we'll work anything and everything out."

Ruby nodded, "So... I take it the hanging bed is mine?" Yang nodded, "Just like home, huh?"

"You couldn't get away from a hanging bed if your life depended on it, sis!" Yang nudged Ruby slightly. It was enough to push Ruby onto the floor in her weakened state, however. "Oop! I'm sorry!" She tried to pick Ruby up.

"Ah, it's not your fault," Ruby assured her tiredly, "Honest, your good..." She was about to fall asleep on the spot, when Yang took it upon herself to throw the younger girl onto her bed.

"There," She called, "Now don't get down from there until morning."

"Shouldn't I change into my pjs though?"

"Don't worry about it!" Yang assured, disappearing into the bathroom.

Ruby nodded and finally fell asleep, rather quickly, actually. Blake had been sitting in her bed the entire time, enjoying the display by the sisters. Yet, she still found herself concerned and rather traumatized by Ruby's actions earlier.

_'That's a risk I'm willing to take,'_ Blake remembered Ruby's words clearly, finding it tough to shake them from her thoughts. Blake didn't like this Ruby at all. After a few moments Yang emerged from the bathroom and checked on her sister, smiling when she found Ruby asleep. Blake saw her chance.

"Yang," She called, "I need to talk to you."

"What's up?" Yang asked, sitting next to Blake.

"In the spar... Ruby was, different. I know she's been different all day, but..." She caught herself before dragging on, "Yang, Ruby put Crescent Rose's blade to my back, she said she's be willing to take the risk of being cut down herself."

Yang just stared at Blake, her eyes growing big in concern. Yang knew that Blake couldn't have been making it up, the horrified look in her eyes said it all. "I- Wow... I don't..."

"Was she like this at Signal?"

"No, of course not. I don't know where she's got this attitude from, Blake. I'll get to the bottom of it though, don't worry."

"Just... Just bring back our leader, ok?" Blake almost pleaded, "I don't like this new Ruby."

Yang wrapped Blake in a hug, "I know, Blake. I know..." After a moment, Yang pulled herself away from the embrace, "Ok, Blake, enough of that. We need to rest. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see what's up. When I'm done you can have at it with your psychology mumbo jumbo. Deal?" Blake nodded, "Great."

Yang pulled herself into her bed, and rested her head on her pillow. It wasn't long before she found sleep, but in the time she had before drifting away, she realized how much concern Blake had for her leader, her sister.

Just after Yang fell into her slumber, there was movement in the bed opposite to hers. Ruby had stirred, adjusting herself slightly in her blankets. She couldn't find sleep right away however.

'Blake... doesn't like me?' Ruby thought, 'Did I do something wrong? Did I say something? Was it the fight? I thought we were friends?'

'Was I wrong?'

* * *

><p><strong>Uh Oh. Well, that's awkward. <strong>

**So, this was... really really long. I enjoyed writing it, but don't anticipate more than 4k words from here on. **

**Ok, now, I feel as though I should mention something.**** Pyrrha also picked up some bets from Team CDNL, but I didn't throw that in there as they aren't viable in the story (maybe later... maybe).**

**So, how was it? Really long, yeah. Probably staggered the reading. If you didn't you're a trooper. Honestly. That or you have some wicked free time on your hands. Will I be getting into even MORE development next chapter, which will pretty much take up the entirety of the weekend for team RWBY (This chapter takes place on a Thursday because that's how I roll.) Chapter 9 (Chapter after the next) Ruby will be back in classes. Oh boy, that'll go over nicely. **

**So tell me how it was, what you think I could change (if anything) and how well you enjoyed/disliked it. I get the 6,800 words won't get me much brownie points, but it'll offer a nice sturdy plot point to start from. **

**Lastly, I'm really sorry this is up later than I wanted. I've spent the last few days with a bad case of Midterm exams that are now over and I have time to myself, which I presumably used to edit and tweak this further. Yay actual free time. **

**So, now that all of that is over, I hope you enjoyed, I'm going to go work on the next chapter. Thanks for reading. **

**Until Next Time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THIS! AT ALL!**

**Warning, this chapter is not one of my better works. I have been in a really bad case of writers block that I decided power through in frustration. Smart? No. Efficient? Kinda. **

**I just wanna say, there is some CFVY love here! Yay! I had to find a way to introduce them that didn't make everything too... how should I say it? Clunky? What better way than here, right? I honestly brought them back for a reason that you'll see in a few chapters. **

**So, enjoy, tell me how bad this was. **

* * *

><p>Waking up this morning had been very slow for Weiss. She got to bed very early the night before and had slept soundly and deeply. When she awoke, she felt refreshed, yet sore. Then she recalled the skirmish the night before and she wondered how she still had a head on her shoulders.<p>

"Good morning, Weiss," A quiet, smooth voice spoke, "Did you sleep well?"

Weiss quickly identified the voice as Blake, "I slept very well last night," Weiss replied with a smile, "How about you?"

"Equally." Blake said, but her eyes gave a different story.

"Blake?" Weiss asked, "Are you ok? How late of a night did you have?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I don't think I got enough is all." Blake lowered her voice to a whisper and moved closer to Weiss, "I heard Ruby moving all last night. I don't think she got much sleep. If she did she was tossing and turning all night..."

Weiss locked eyes with Blake, "That... that wouldn't be like her at all..."

Blake nodded, "What do we do?" Weiss held up her index finger, the universal sign of 'hold on', and stood up. She peeked over Ruby's bed and found the girl sleeping quietly, lightly snoring.

"Well, she's asleep now..." Weiss whispered to Blake, "I think we should let her and Yang sleep some more. Both used an extenuated amount of Aura yesterday. They're probably worn out."

Blake nodded in agreement. "Want to go get breakfast? I'm kinda hungry." Weiss nodded fervently.

"Yes! I will not wait for these two to get up. They can eat when they're ready." Blake nodded. The two got dressed and walked out, shutting the door quietly so as not to disturb their slumbering partners. Blake was kind enough to leave a note on the sister's scrolls for when they awoke, just in case Weiss and Blake weren't back in time.

On their way down, they heard team Pyrrha and Nora walk out of their dorms. Turning to meet the girls, they were met with a boisterous call. "WEISS! BLAKE!" Nora yelled, running down the hall, "YOU"RE ALIVE, TOO!" Blake and Weiss simultaneously shushed the girl as she ran, silently telling her that the sisters were still asleep. "Oh... Sorry." Nora blushed.

"Well you two are up rather early, don't you think?" Pyrrha asked, finally catching up.

"Well it _is_ only eight in the morning." Weiss said, making an excuse, "We couldn't sleep the day away, you know."

Nora scoffed, "Oh, yes you can!"

Pyrrha ignored her teammates comment, "Let's go get breakfast, shall we?" She insisted. the others agreed and they continued to walk down. While walking Pyrrha explained that Jaune and Ren will be doing the team's homework, as the two of them drew the shortest straws. It was a nice laugh to have, given the events over the last sixteen hours.

Eventually they made their way to the cafeteria, where they found the second year team and mentors Team CFVY. Pyrrha was grinning ear to ear when she saw Coco. "Coco!" She called, entering the cafeteria, "You, Fox and Yatsuhashi owe us some money!"

"What?!" Coco nearly spun her head off when she turned to face Pyrrha, "There is _no way_ one person, let alone Kid (using her given name for Ruby) could beat all of her team!"

"My spinning head, the Bruises on Blake, the dents in the walls on the arena, and all of the Blood on the arena floor would like to say otherwise." Weiss said, sitting down next to Velvet.

Coco just stared on in disbelief and amazement, then, after getting nudged by Pyrrha, opened her wallet. "I just, I know Kid is a badass and all, you don't get to Beacon two years early without being one, but... How bad?"

"Bad." Blake and Weiss responded in unison.

"Wow." Coco said, paying Pyrrha, who smiled and nodded. "You're lucky I'm a women of my word." Pyrrha laughed. "How do you feel knowing she bet against you?"

"It was smart." Blake said easily. Nothing more came from the faunus.

"So," Velvet spoke, "Where is Ruby? We haven't seen her since she was in a coma?"

"OH my god!" Weiss gasped, "We totally forgot to bring you guys last night!" She smacked her head with her hand, "I'm sorry, guys!"

"Hey!" Coco slammed on the table, "It's ok. We had a test today anyway, we couldn't make it."

"Oh. Well, still, I feel bad." Weiss stuttered.

"Don't," Velvet assured, "We'll see her soon. Where is she, anyway?" She repeated her question.

"Sleeping." Blake and Weiss again said in unison. Both giving each other blank looks.

"You two are doing that very well." Fox commented. The two agreed, slowly nodding their heads. Everyone at the table laughed at the exchange, and returned to their meal. In the cases of Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha and Nora, they all got their food and began eating.

Breakfast had gone by rather quickly. CFVY had invited the four to go with them into town after their test. Pyrrha and Nora declined politely, stating that they still had classes today. Blake and Weiss accepted the invitation. It would be a good way to have them see Ruby again, and vise versa, also giving them a chance to get into town. It would be refreshing to go somewhere that wasn't a hospital room, classroom or sparring arena.

What could go wrong?

Waking up for Yang had been a... nonexistent thing, to say the least. The blinds had been left open (by Blake, more than likely), which let in sunlight. 'Oh sunlight', Yang thought, 'You're more than welcome at any time of the day _except_ morning.' Yang decided there was only one way to deal with it...

She would have to get up and close them.

Yang sigh, rolling out of bed. She grabbed the curtains and pulled them closed. She had found the note that Blake was kind enough to leave and shook her head. What did she care? Blake had gone with Ruby or Weiss (depending on the day) to get breakfast and left her and the other to sleep. Why leave a note? It seemed like a huge waste.

Just as she forced her internal tirade to cease she heard a stirring in the bed across from hers. Yang froze instantly, not wanting to make a single noise that would jar her sister awake. After a moment, Ruby had stopped moving and Yang was able to breathe a sigh of relief. 'After yesterday there is _no way_ you should be up, little sis.' Yang thought. 'Hell, _I_ shouldn't even be up.'

Alas, this event caused Yang's heart to race, slightly. That meant that no matter what she did, she would not be going to sleep right this second. Once again, Yang sighed, 'This is just not my morning, is it?' She sat and began to think, pondering what Blake said last night.

'She's not the same as she was. She _does_ have a new attitude. Why? This wasn't the way she acted at Signal, so what could have caused this? Does amnesia give you a new persona?' She thought to herself. Even at the hospital she didn't act like this. Sure she was quiet, but she was probably confused.

Yang pondered over this for a few more moments, every theory she had either was too much of a stretch to work or all led to the possibility of just being far too busy to keep her attitude in check. While she thought, she once again heard a stirring from the bed across from hers. She looked over to see Ruby rise in her bed.

"Hey!" Yang called, "You're awake!"

"Yeah..." Ruby sighed, "I am. Great." She said with mock enthusiasm.

"What was that all about?" Yang asked sincerely. Ruby just shook her head and climbed out of her bed.

"It's nothing, Yang. I'm just tired." She jumped from her bed, as did Yang, who stepped in her way. "Please, Yang? I just want to get breakfast."

"Kinda late for that sis." Yang said, rubbing the back of her head. Ruby gave her a quizzical expression, "It's almost ten thirty. They're done with breakfast and will be moving to lunch. They'll reopen at eleven."

Ruby looked at her sister, wide eyed, "Yeah," Yang said, "We both slept for a pretty long time. That's what happens when you use a lot of your Aura though." She ruffled Ruby's hair, "You and I know this better than anyone." Ruby smile and nodded, still not saying a word. Her silence agitated Yang.

"Ok," Yang started, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "What's wrong? And don't even tell me it's nothing. Something's clearly on your mind, so before the others get back from light knows where, tell me now. What's wrong?" She asked very sternly. Ruby tried to make up an excuse, anything to get Yang off of her back. It would have worked if Yang would give her more time. Alas, the older sister had forced Ruby to sit on Weiss' bed (Again, not caring if she'd mind or not).

Yang kept her gaze on Ruby, pressuring the girl to tell her the truth. Ruby wasn't known to keep up her composure under pressure; she would break soon. Yang just had to push that.

Thankfully for Ruby, both scrolls chimed in. Yang moved to check and sighed, "It's Ozpin. They have your test results." She shook her head, "You got lucky here. But when we're done you and I are going to have a little talk. Actually, I think the rest of the team might have a few words for you." Ruby sighed, realizing that this has only delayed the inevitable. But it did give her some time to think of a cover at least. "We need to get dressed and go see him. Weiss wants you to meet team CFVY too for lunch."

Ruby nodded and got dressed, leaving her sister to take the bathroom. 'Saved by the bell,' she thought, 'How do I explain that I heard what they were saying last night?'

'Better think of something fast, girl.'

Weiss and Blake were waiting outside of Ozpin's office. Specifically, they were waiting for their teammates. They had left the sisters to go eat breakfast earlier. To pass the time they followed team CFVY to the library to study. Rather, have Velvet and Yatsuhashi study and have Coco and Fox kill time by browsing the web. Weiss wasn't really surprised by that, Coco wasn't exactly the best at studying. Nevertheless her grades were exemplary. She even took Ruby under her wing for leadership training during the year. Giving her advice on how to act and react to certain situations. Ruby was very thankful of that.

It wasn't until ten when CFVY had to leave. The test would be done by noon and then they would all meet in town for lunch. Weiss was thankful for the second year team. They had no issue helping out the first years, RWBY and JNPR in particular. They never held a superiority complex to their younger counterparts like most upper year students.

Weiss was broken from her thought by a nudge from her faunus teammate. She looked to see the sisters running towards them. Weiss sighed, 'better late than never.' she thought. The two finally caught up, and took a moment to catch their breaths.

"Ruby..." Yang said, panting, "I told you... I'll lead, _you _follow. You- Don't know- Your way around here..." She finally said.

Ruby laughed, not even tired, "Not my fault you can't keep up. If you want to lead you gotta go faster than me."

"That's not fair when you have a speed semblance!" Her sister argued.

"She has a point." Blake agreed, earning a smile from Yang.

"Doesn't matter!" Weiss declared, "Come on! We're keeping Ozpin waiting!" Her team followed their interim leader inside and climbed into the elevator. Ruby had to suppress the urge to hit all of the buttons, knowing she'd piss off her team.

In a moments time the team made their way to the top floor, meeting Goodwitch right outside the office. "Ah, good!" She said with a rare, genuine smile, "You made it. Ozpin has the results of the tests from yesterday. Please, come in." She opened the door invitingly. The team nodded and accepted, taking their seat inside the office.

Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, drinking a cup of coffee, with Professor Peach to the side of the desk. Goodwitch took to the other side of the desk and nodded. Ozpin returned it and cleared his throat.

"Well, I see you're all still alive." He said with a smile, though no one laughed, "Very well. First, I'm going to explain the point of the tests. for the written tests, it was all opinion. There was no right or wrong." The team before him nodded, "We pulled the test right from Signal's second year team leader testing program. I'm sure you found some questions familiar?" Ruby nodded.

"Good. We wanted to compare them to your last test at Signal and your first test here to see where you were at; whether or not you answered them as if you were at Signal or at Beacon." Again, the team nodded, eager to hear the results, "The tests show you answering the questions far differently. You answered the questions exactly like you did on the Signal exam. Meaning-"

"She truly lost the last year." Weiss interrupted dejectedly.

"Ahem, yes, Miss Schnee. You answered both tests with the mentality of a Signal student. But you fought like a Beacon student. This leads us to believe your mind is the only thing holding you back." Again, the team was confused, except for Blake. "Miss Belladonna, you've been dabbling in psychology lately, correct? Could you explain this, further?"

Blake nodded, knowing full well that Ozpin knew, but wanted her to explain to show what she knew. "Certainly," She began, "Basically it shows that Ruby's body hasn't lost a year. Normally the body would obey the mind and fight as though they were a year back, or as far back as the mind took it. But in this case a year. Ruby fought like a Beacon student, which shows that her body is disobeying the mind in terms of fighting. It's a fifty-fifty chance of her mind and body being in sync, rather than one be behind and the other be on track." Ozpin nodded as her team did. They now understood it.

"This means that we won't have to condition your body, just bring your mind back to speed, Miss Rose." Ruby nodded, though deep down she didn't want it. "Now we begin your recovery. Your team will be with you every step of the way. As for the teachers, unless a memory involves one of us, it's out of our hands. Good luck."

The team nodded and exited. Entering the elevator, Weiss chose the ground floor. "So," she sighed, "A mind of a Signal student, a body of a Beacon student. At least it'll be easier to bring you back."

"Yeah," Ruby said, unenthusiastically, "Perfect."

Blake caught her tone where Weiss and Yang weren't paying attention. Ruby did a very good job of hiding her feelings. 'Damn,' Blake thought, 'I can't wait to start picking at her mind! If her muscles are still ahead of her mind then it will be easier to make her remember! This won't be permanent!'

"Ok, Team CFVY is done with their test and are waiting by the launching pads to take us into town."

"Ok," Ruby said quietly, "So... Do I need to know anything about this team? Are they like JNPR?"

"No, they're a second year team." Weiss responded, "They're more of mentors to us, to be honest." Ruby nodded, accepting the answer. Yang hadn't really explained who CFVY was, so it was nice to get a quick explanation before meeting them. The team name sounded familiar (Despite being the name of her studying drink), she could picture some faces, but no names.

The elevator finally made it to the ground floor and the team departed. They quickly made their way to the launch pads where they saw the second year team. "Hey!" Coco yelled, "'Bout time you made it! Startin' to think you were going to blow us off."

"You?" Yang said, flabbergasted, "Nah, we couldn't do that!"

"Pfft, sure." Coco retorted jokingly. "So, we all ready?" Everyone nodded. "Perfect! Because the next ride into town is about ten minutes out!"

"You just missed the last one." Velvet said, laughing, "We were taking bets that that would happen." She turned to Ruby, "Ah, and there you are!"

"Wait," Ruby said, stopping the rabbit faunus for a moment, "I'm trying to remember... Your voice, those ears... Velvet?"

"Hey!" Coco exclaimed, "First try! Ok, let's see about the rest of us, now."

"Well, Yang already told me your name, earlier, Coco." Coco shrugged it off. Ruby pointed to Fox, "I think I can remember you... Your weapons are the giveaway, here, Fox!"

Fox nodded and gave a golf clap. "Impressive. I'm not surprised that my weapons gave away my name. I've always been told they are very distinct."

Ruby nodded and turned her attention to the last member, who smiled and chuckled. "Ok, I remember your name being very difficult..." She thought some more... "Yatsu...?"

"Hashi." Coco whispered into her ear.

"Coco!" Weiss yelled, "No cheating! She was doing so well!"

"What?! It's going to take forever! I've been his leader for almost two whole years and I still mess up his name!" Yatsuhashi nodded, informing the girls that Coco was correct. "Wel that killed about seven minutes. Hey, I heard you all got your butts kicked by the young one." She said easily, putting an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

Yang buried her face into her hands, "I think saying we got our butts kicked is too nice." Blake and Weiss nodded in agreement.

"Oh? Manhandled? Demolished? Destroyed? Terminated?! Stop me if I'm too far. Crushed whole-heartedly?! Nuked from orbit?! SMASHED?!"

"Coco!" Velvet called.

"No, no!" Ruby assured, "Any would apply." Coco laughed and ruffled Ruby's hair. Ruby was probably Coco's favorite first year student. In her, Coco saw herself when she was young. Full of life, determined, not stopping for anyone. But she also saw raw, unused talent for leadership and Coco wanted to help with that. Over the last year Coco and Ruby spent time, learning the very basics of leadership. Coco was happy to take the younger girl under her wing.

After all, Beacon at fifteen had to be challenging, and Coco would rather have nothing more than to have the girl who reminded so much of herself succeed.

Eventually the transit to the city arrived, picking everyone up. In no time at all they found their way to their destination. It was a small, locally owned restaurant that everyone loved.

Lunch had been great. It had been a while since the teams had gotten a chance to just sit down and talk. CFVY was more grateful for Team RWBY for their help with the "Cardinal Incident".

Fox and Yatsuhashi had been seeking Team CDNL for what they had done to Velvet and Team RWBY was more than happy to oblige. For their help they became friends with Team CFVY.

"So," Velvet began, "How is everything going?"

"Meh." Yang retorted. Blake nodded in agreement.

"It's been... Interesting..." Ruby said, taking a sip of her drink.

"I'd have to agree with that." Replied Weiss.

"With amnesia I'd assume things would be interesting," Velvet said, "How have you been doing with it, Ruby?"

Ruby thought for a moment, "In all honesty, it's pretty overwhelming. I mean, I look at everything at the school, and it's Déjà vu, you know? I know I've been there, everyone tells me I have, but I just can't remember. But Ozpin said that something will trigger my memories, so all we have to do is find that trigger, I guess." She finished and returned to her meal.

Velvet and Coco both nodded, then turned to their teammates, who also nodded. "Weiss!" Velvet called, "I almost forgot, Fox wanted to show you something in the city." Fox waved, staying silent, "Are you done eating?" Weiss nodded.

"Great! We'll go now!" Fox called.

"But-" Weiss didn't even get a word in edge-wise before Fox started pulling her away from the group.

"Blake, Yang," Yatsuhashi called, "I too found a store not far that you two would enjoy. Would you care to go now?"

Yang looked to Blake, then to Ruby. Ruby gestured to her that it was ok. "Ok," Yang said, "Lead the way, big man!" With that, they departed, leaving Coco and Velvet with Ruby."

"So..." Ruby said, taking another sip of her drink, "I see you planned this one out."

Coco laughed, "Yeah, we did." She took Ruby's drink, a coffee, one cream and five sugars, and pulled out a small flask. "You seem kinda stressed, and I know that answer wasn't completely honest, girl." She poured a tiny amount into her coffee and returned it to the fifteen year old. "Go ahead, tell us the real reason. We won't tell your team and the others should keep them away for a good while."

Ruby sighed, took a drink, and began, "I'll be honest, Coco, I just... I don't like this." Coco and Velvet both looked at her quizzically, "I don't like being the center of attention and yet that's all I am here. I understand my condition but Ozpin said I should have my memories back, so why am I getting special treatment? Or at least, why is everyone concerned?" She sat back in her chair, finally able to get that off of her chest.

Coco and Velvet too sat back, thinking about what the younger just said. They both knew and understood the need to talk to someone, and sometimes talking to a teammate just wouldn't do it.

"So why don't you tell them?" Velvet asked.

"If Yang doesn't flip than the others would... I don't think there's a nice way of saying 'Hey, thanks for all that you've done, but I'm going to have to ask you to not give a shit anymore. Thanks!'" Ruby responded, "I don't know, maybe I'm just being an idiot about all of this."

"Nah." Coco said, "There's not really much you can do, Kid. And there's also not really much we can do accept offer an ear." Ruby looked to her with a raised eyebrow, "If ever you need to get something off of your chest and you don't want Yang or the others to hear, just come and find us. Hell, I've spent the entire last year teaching you everything I know about being a leader, this will be nothing."

Ruby blushed slightly, "Thanks." She finished her drink, "Uh, what was in the flask?"

"Oh! Just some very minor alcohol. Not enough to get you drunk, not even tipsy, but enough to relax you. Like I said, you seemed stressed." Coco shrugged. Ruby accepted the answer and sighed. Coco was right, whatever it was, it did calm her down.

It didn't take long for the others to get back. The group decided they would head back to the school, as there wasn't really much left in town to do. It was a very slow day all around, and all anybody wanted to do was get back to their dorms.

* * *

><p>The rest of their Friday went by smoothly. Yang completely forgot about her threat to Ruby. Yatsuhashi took Yang and Blake to a book shop while Fox distracted Weiss with dust questions. Each one was designed as a diversion so Coco and Velvet could pick at Ruby's brain for a moment. But it wasn't for no reason...<p>

Blake asked Velvet to do it, who told Coco. The reason was so that they could get an understanding of Ruby's attitude a little bit better. Velvet told Blake, and Blake told the others without Ruby being in the room. It was an eye opener for the girls, as they realized that they were probably treading very deeply into Ruby's personal space on more than one occasion. This halted Blake's psychology attempt on the younger girl, but only for a day or two.

Saturday had been a slow day for the team. Weiss had retrieved the notes (and all other work) from JNPR. Ruby decided to read up on some of the work to get an understanding as to where they are. Ozpin decided to send her back into classes on Monday, so if she was going to start, it might as well be here.

On an upside, any missing work over the last month had been exempted, which made everyone very happy. Ruby more than anyone.

After all of the work had been done and reviewed, the girls decided to take it easy. Weiss made special orders for everyone to rest and recover, as they were (mostly) sore from the spar still. Blake was about to go to the library, but then decided to take Ruby. Then she could start talking and hopefully get something out of her.

"Hey, Ruby," Blake called, picking up a few books. Ruby looked down at her faunus teammate from her bed, "I'm going to go to the library, want to go with?" Ruby sat back and thought, then jumped from her bed.

"Why not?" She shrugged. The two departed, leaving Yang and Weiss alone.

"Hey," Yang called, "You want to do anything?"

"Not really." Weiss answered.

"Good."

* * *

><p>Ruby and Blake arrived in no time, taking a seat in the far corner of the library. Ruby looked to Blake, who had set down the small pile of books. "You know," She started, "I could have helped with those?"<p>

Blake shook her head, "Nope. I had it. Now," She sat down, "I was hoping I would get a chance to talk to you-"

"I know, Blake." Ruby interrupted, Yang told me that you've been wanting to talk to me recently, and Ozpin made mention to it yesterday. So what's up?"

"Well," Blake began, "If we're going to get your memories back, we're going to have to go deep into your subconscious, you know that right?" Ruby nodded, "Ok, and every dream you have, every nightmare that wakes you up, if you have a thought or even a moment of realization I _need_ you to tell me, ok? Any little thing will help."

Again, Ruby nodded. "Ok. Eventually, when you're ready, and when I've completed my studying on the subject, I'll hypnotize you. When I do this, things are going to-"

"I get it Blake," Ruby interrupted again, "I've seen someone get hypnotized. Yang actually, and our Uncle Qrow. If you want practice, she's the one to start with." Blake nodded, appreciative of the advice. "Do you want to start this 'memory retrieval' or whatever you want to call it now, or later?"

Thinking, Blake pulled back, "Later. If we come across something out here something might happen that we both may regret."

Ruby smiled slightly, "Good idea."

* * *

><p><strong>Again, not my greatest of works, I know. <strong>

**So, a few things to throw out there:**

**1) Remember the one shot I said I was going to make a few chapters ago where Weiss makes Ruby study too much? Yeah, that one's taking a while. But, on an upside, I do have a few other ministories in mind until then. **

**2) ****rwbybomb21: Sorry, friend, but there's not going to be much in terms of romance. If there's anything, it's going to be a light tease (if that). I do not do romance... at all. Sorry. **

**I also got a lot of good words and reviews for the length of the chapter. Not what I was expecting, thank you! That also tells me that I can make a chapter and not have to worry about it being too long for your likings! You've just lifting a huge personal restriction! Now I don't have to force a stop anymore! **

**So, how did you like it? I know, it wasn't that good, sorry. I just needed a way to get past this particular point, and I had to force my way through. After this, everything can run smoothly, but I just couldn't figure out a way to get to that point, and not doing this chapter would not be good. Again, sorry, not my best works. But, look at it like this: After this chapter I know where to go with the story and how to get us there! So there's that.**

**Ok, now that all of that is done, I want to say a few words. I'm sure by now you've heard, and if you haven't sorry you had to hear it here, but Monty Oum is in the hospital under critical. There is nothing more I can do (as I am pretty damn broke) except to keep him in my thoughts and prayers, and I ask you to do the same. If you are not the type of person to pray, then I ask you to at least keep him in your thoughts and if you can, donate to his medical expenses! For more info, go to the RoosterTeeth Website. **

**Thank you! I'll see ya around.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry!**

**Despite the fact that I didn't have any classes today, I still managed to get caught up with a lot of crap! The one time I am actually able to write, the one time I'm not being disrupted by writers block, EVERYONE wants to do stuff! **

**Uhg.**

**alright, aside for that, I finally have this up. I was unsure of how I was going to write this, but after a while I found my rhythm and was able to bring you this before the night got too late! I'm happy, to say the least. **

**So, this just leaves Cataclysmic, which I have not started yet EVEN THOUGH I have an idea of how to write the next chapter and what not. I will get it before the end of Wednesday, I guarantee it. Tomorrow I still don't have class, and, weather permitting, Wednesday might be a day where I have no class as well. That'll leave me a lot of time to write. **

**I might even get a few other stories out, if that's the case. **

**So, without further delay, I have Amnesia, Chapter 9! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Yang paced back and forth impatiently between the beds. "Where are they?" She wondered out loud.<p>

"Yang," Weiss almost pleaded, "Just calm down. They haven't been gone for too long. Besides, Blake said she was going to try some of her psychology stuff on Ruby. We don't want to interrupt that."

The two in question had been gone for a little over an hour and a half. Yang was hoping to have heard from there by now, anything really. She hadn't been pacing like this for the entire time, but when she started she quickly got on to Weiss' nerves.

The interim leader rose from her bed, "Ok, Yang, I'm going to give you an order now. Calm down, take a seat. We'll hear from them soon."

"Oh ho ho! Look at this! Your first direct order!" Yang mocked, "No offense Weiss, really, it's just... I think Ruby's _still _the leader. Sorry." Yang wasn't really sorry. Weiss wasn't really made for leadership, in her eyes, compared to Ruby. Still, Yang did as she was told and took a seat.

Weiss sat back down in a huff, offended at Yang's statement. Yang took a young girl, with amnesia no less, as the leader over her.

Just as both sat down, they heard the door click. Turning their attention to the front, they saw their AWOL teammates walk through, laughing.

"Hey!" Yang called, "How did it go?"

"Go?" Blake asked, "Oh! How did it go! It uh... didn't really go..."

Yang just stared blankly, "What?"

"We decided that it would best not to discuss it in a public area. It was a bit crowded in there." Blake explained, "I didn't really want to lose control in there."

"Lose control?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, it- Ah screw it. I'm not explaining it anymore." Blake waved her off and went to her bunk.

Weiss shook her head, still wanting to know what Blake meant, but wasn't in the mood to pry for it. She looked to Ruby, who was looking through some notes. Weiss was surprised. Every now and again she had to mentally, sometimes physically, slap herself. She always underestimated the younger leader and understood why she was the leader.

She was determined.

"Hey," Weiss called, "What were you two laughing at when you walked in?"

Blake and Ruby shared a glance and shrugged, "Should we?" Ruby asked?

"I don't see why not." Blake sat up, "We may or may not have snuck a peak at one of Jaune and Pyrrha's midnight training's."

"Oh." Weiss said, slyly, "And what did our spying teammates see?"

"We saw Jaune deck Pyrrha, then deck himself." Ruby said, "He charged her, then tripped over himself and fell flat on his face." She buried her face into her hands, trying to regain composure from her laughing fit, "We almost got caught we were laughing so hard."

"Now _that_ is something I'd want to see." Yang said, patting her sister on the back.

"I would scold you for spying, but that sounds hilarious." Weiss admitted.

"Oh it was." Blake commented, turning to her books. After a moment, silence fell upon the room once again. Ruby returning to her notes with not so much as a second word, Blake returning to her books, Yang was playing games on her scroll, while Weiss was doing any homework she had left.

The silence killed Yang the most. It had been a very slow day, for a Saturday. The next day didn't promise any excitement either. She made a mental note to do something fun tomorrow, before they had to be thrown back into classes.

Ruby took a look at the alarm clock on the desk and sighed. It was barely nine, but she was bored and tired. The team didn't appear to want do anything for the rest of the night. She made her decision;

"Alright, I think I'm going to call it a night." She declared, packing up her notes.

"Alright, sis." Yang called, "Good night."

"Sleep well" Blake said, not looking up from her book.

"Night, Ruby." Weiss replied.

It took a few minutes to find sleep. Partly due to the amount of light from the lamps that her teammates were using. She brought the comforter over her face, which helped immensely.

Eventually Ruby found sleep, and welcomed it's embrace over her.

It didn't take long for the young leader to fall asleep. Once the sounds of her tossing and turning changed to soft snoring, the team took a collective sigh. Yang jumped down and sat next to Blake on her bunk, Blake and Weiss both sat up. "Ok," Weiss started, "What do we know so far?" Her voice was in a low whisper as not to disturb their teammate.

"Well, so far all we know is that she doesn't want to be a burden. I wasn't able to go in depth with her dreams with her, so I can't really say." Blake replied, "All we know right now is what we've known for the past few days, save the new information Velvet told us."

Weiss nodded, "Tomorrow, for sure."

"Definitely." Blake answered. "Yang, no matter what, I _need_ you here tomorrow when we start our own exam on her. She'll respond better if your there."

Yang nodded without saying a word. Weiss stood up from her bed and walked to the desk. She picked up some of Ruby's notes, which got her team's attention. "Weiss," Yang called, "Why are you going through Ruby's notes?"

"Oh, no reason." Weiss replied, sighing slightly, "I used to go through her notes, sometimes by her request, sometimes... not so much. We would figure out what was right and what wasn't. I just wanted to make sure her information is still correct."

"Oh." Yang sighed. She noticed Weiss going through quite a few of Ruby's books, then realized. "Oh shit."

"Hm?"

"Uh, hold on." Yang said, nearly diving for the books. She thought she saw Ruby's personal journal, which dated to her first year at Signal. Everything on there was beyond personal for the younger girl, and Weiss wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Ruby's journal or her note books.

Yang quickly found it, a medium sized book with a large rose carved into the face and back. A smaller one carved into the spine. "Found what I was looking for!" She smiled, playing it off as nothing. Weiss and Blake both gave quizzical looks. Yang sighed, "It's Ruby's book. She's got a lot of personal stuff in here and it's tough to tell what's school and what's not. So... Yeah." She tossed the book on her bed, determined to keep it away from the others.

Yang's true reason was because anything embarrassing Ruby had in there about herself, she had in there about Yang, possibly ten-fold. Yang shuddered at the thought. Ruby kept a large account of what happened over the past few years, having journals which dated to before Summer died.

Yang sat back down and exhaled sharply, "Anything else?" The others shook their heads, not finding anything to talk about. Weiss wanted to bring up their upcoming classes, but she wanted the whole team to be awake for it. "Alright, then. I'm going to follow Ruby's lead and call it a night."

"Good night." Both Blake and Weiss called in unison. They exchanged a look, then nodded and went back to their own divides.

In less than an hour the final members of Team RWBY followed suit and fell asleep rather quickly. Both wishing for a very long night.

They wished... at least.

* * *

><p><em>Snow...<em>

_ Cold..._

_ That's all she felt. The young girl turned, trying to figure out where she was. She saw... Trees... A forest? In front of her was a cliff; upon that cliff, a tombstone. Ruby instantly realized where she was. _

_ Her mother's grave. She kneeled down, reading the inscription. _

_ "Thus I kindly scatter..." She read out loud. Then heard a noise. She turned around, trying to pull Crescent Rose, but it was missing. Desperately trying to find it, Ruby realized that there was nothing. She was weaponless. _

_ Alas, though, there was no signs of life. Nothing, no one, just an empty forest. She sighed, turned around and saw..._

_ "Whoa!" She jumped back at the sight. The creature in front of her had a while cloak on, much like hers. The hood was up, so Ruby couldn't make out the facial features. She didn't need to, though. She knew exactly who it was. "Mom?" She questioned. "Mom." _

_ The creature extended a hand, beckoning for the smaller girl. Ruby jumped immediately, running towards the creature in front of her. This... whatever it was, moved back, further and further away, until she was completely off of the cliff. Still, this didn't stop Ruby's resolve. She still ran, eventually catching up to the creature..._

_ Running right through her. _

_ Ruby fell. She didn't know for how long, but she just kept falling. All the while looking upwards, trying to keep the image of her mother alive. But that image dissipated in the darkness below. _

_ Eventually Ruby stopped falling. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was on top of a train car in a tunnel. They were going full speed. She looked over and saw her teammates, even herself, with an older man. The all face so many... People? What was going on here?_

_ "Professor Oobleck!" Ruby heard Weiss' voice call, "What do we do?" _

_ "You three!" The man pointed to Blake, Weiss and Yang, "Go below and try and stop those bombs!" Bombs? Wha-? "Ruby, you and I are going to stop this train up here!" _

_ Ruby turned to face herself... All it did was nod at Oobleck's orders; no reaction, no emotion. Just straight faced nod. _

_ "This is a dream, it has to be!" Ruby told herself. She looked and saw that her team had disappeared, leaving Ruby with the... Whatever that was, with her. She refused to believe that thing was her, no matter how many times it answered to the name 'Ruby'; no matter how much of a resemblance it showed._

_ Ruby watched as this thing ran out, charging towards the people in front. They were unarmed and she just mercilessly cut them down... or worse: _

_ Threw them off of the train. _

_ Ruby heard their screams, their cries of agony. Time slowed, she saw the faces, they looked so... Shocked... So afraid... _

_ And they just fell. Into the abyss behind them. Ruby turned to look what was following the train, horrifying realization dawning upon her. _

_ Those people were crying because they were just thrown off of a train; they were crying because they had been thrown into the jaws of an army of Grimm. _

_ "No... No, no no no! No! NO!" She buried her face into her hands and collapsed, "This can't be real... I couldn't have done this! Why am I seeing this?!" _

_ She heard a footstep behind her. She looked back, seeing the emotionless eyes of herself. Her mirror image stood, looking down on her. All the mirror did was point out to the tunnel behind them, "See that?" The mirror asked, "_You caused that."_ It said coldly. _

_ "NO!"_

* * *

><p>"No!"<p>

Ruby was jolted awake. She looked out into the team's dorm and was met by the darkness of night. Her breath was labored and heavy, her mouth was dry, as if she had been screaming. Ruby looked around; thankfully, she didn't wake her teammates up.

Climbing off of her bed, Ruby went to the bathroom and picked up the cup that sat at the sink. She quickly filled it with water and downed it in one go. The refreshing taste washed over her, giving her a chance to truly catch her breath. She set the cup down and went back to bed.

Alas, she found that she could not return to sleep so easily. The memory of the nightmare plagued her mind. The faces of those people... burned in her brain.

Ruby sighed, and quietly dropped down from her bunk again. She did a quick look around, making sure her teammates were still asleep. Once she was certain that they still slumbered, she picked up her scroll and headed out. Quietly closing the door behind her, Ruby took a deep breath.

She turned around and faced an empty hallway. She wondered what time it was. Looking to her scroll, which indicated to be almost one o'clock in the morning. Ruby slid down the wall next to the door, her free hand on her forehead.

"One A.M?" She questioned out loud, baffled with herself.

Before she could even think of what to do next, she heard footsteps. Looking over, panic written on her face. She ran to the other end of the hall, hiding from whatever it was she heard. Peaking around the corner, she saw...

"Jaune? Pyrrha?" She asked quietly. She saw the two, both looking warn out, weapons drawn, but not looking to use them soon. They were talking, that much was certain, but it was unknown as to what they were saying.

Eventually the two disappeared inside their dorm, once again giving Ruby the hallway to herself. She sighed and walked out, trying to figure out how to get to the roof. Blake showed her how to get up there earlier, but the damn place was such a maze.

After a few minutes of walking and silently cursing to herself after running around in circles, she finally found the stairway to the roof top. She walked out and took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air. The solitude gave her time to ponder her dream a bit.

_"What happened there? What did I see? Do I tell Yang and the others?"_ A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind, until one stuck out to her. _"Is that the event that caused my amnesia?"_

She looked up to the glowing orbs at the top of Beacon's tallest tower and sighed. "That's it, isn't it? That whole day..."

"What's that?"

Ruby jumped back, landing on her backside. She turned and faced her faunus teammate, who was standing over the young girl with her arms crossed. "Who were you talking to just a second ago?" Blake asked, a quizzical smile on her face. She offered a hand to Ruby, who gladly took it.

"Myself." Ruby replied with a dejected tone. "What are you doing up, Blake?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." The brunette responded, "You know I almost woke Yang up when I heard you leave." Ruby looked Blake in the eyes, fear and concern filled them. Blake laughed, "Don't worry, I didn't actually. You shouldn't leave in the middle of the night, you know?"

Ruby took a deep breath, "Yeah... I know."

"What's wrong?"

"I-It's no-"

"Ruby." Blake said sternly, putting both of her hands on Ruby's shoulders, "What's. Wrong."

"I had a nightmare." Blake looked down, surprise in her eyes. "I had a nightmare, couldn't get back to sleep and I didn't want to wake any of you up, so I took a walk to clear my head. Sorry."

Blake wrapped Ruby up in a tight hug. Not as tight as Yang's, but tight enough to be a caring embrace. "You know you're going to have to talk about it." Blake said, "Anything and everything can be used by us to help you, and this, no matter how bad it is, can be a huge breakthrough."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah... I know."

"You want to go back to the dorm now?"

Ruby nodded again.

"Ok. Come on, then. Let's go back." She walked Ruby back to the dorm, only to find the lights on. Slowly, the pair opened the door and were met by a monster hug by Yang and a barrage of questions by Weiss.

"Where were you two?!" She almost yelled. "Do you know how late it is?! We almost called for help! What were you thinking!"

"Weiss!" Blake yelled, "Calm down! It's late and other teams can hear us, probably!" Weiss blushed and took a step back. "Ruby needed a moment to clear her head is all."

"Oh?" Yang asked, setting the two down, "Why?"

"She had a nightmare, Yang. I don't think she's in the mood to talk about it." Blake whispered. Yang nodded and stared at Ruby.

"You gonna be ok?" The younger nodded, "Alright. Why didn't you wake one of us up?"

"I... I didn't want to bug you. You shouldn't lose sleep because I can't sleep."

Yang made a quiet "D'aw" sound and began to crush Ruby once again in another hug. Blake and Weiss convened by the desk and began to talk in a low whisper.

"What do you think?" Weiss asked, "Will she be ok to talk about it?"

"She'll have to be if she wants us to help." Blake put bluntly. "We'll talk in the morning. Right now I think everyone could use some sleep." Weiss nodded and looked to the sisters, who had just pulled away from an embrace. Then, Blake had an idea.

"Ruby!" She called, "Why don't you and I swap beds? That way in case you have another nightmare you don't have to worry about falling off of the bed, or waking us up by jumping off?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment, "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Blake declared, "I don't see why not."

Ruby nodded in agreement. She and the rest of the team began to go back to their respective beds, save Blake and Ruby.

Blake found her leaders bed to be... different. The bed swayed easily, but nothing to violent. It was enough to be almost soothing. The faunus quickly found out why Ruby preferred a bed like this.

Ruby, also, found it easy to conform to Blake's bed. She knew it would wake her up a few times; sleeping in a hanging bed for so long, then switching to a grounded one, just doesn't work. But she was more than happy if it made things easier for her team, as well as herself.

Ruby looked around, checking her teammates. Weiss was all nuzzled, it appears as though she'd already fallen asleep. Blake had been fairly still too. Yang, however, was still hovering around her sister.

"Hey," Yang whispered, "You sure you're ok? Nothing you want to talk about?" Ruby nodded, saying she was fine, "Alright then. If you have another nightmare or you can't sleep, just wake me up, alright?" Again, Ruby nodded.

"Good night, Yang."

"Night, sis." Yang lightly kissed Ruby on her forehead, then climbed into bed. Ruby sighed, then pulled the blankets over her. Hitting the lamp on the desk, darkness returned to the room.

Ruby was nervous, at first. The embrace of sleep had betrayed her before. But now, she knew, her team would be there for her, whether she liked it or not.

She exhaled, relaxing herself. The day may not have been off to a great start, it being past one A.M. now, but she only saw it getting better.

She hoped.

* * *

><p><strong>Well damn. <strong>

**That took a turn, didn't it?**

**I had to throw out a few things with that one. The nightmare, definitely one I'm going to be going back too with these next few chapters. New nightmare, same one, whichever. You're going to really see how dark I can truly make shit without killing anyone. **

**So, what did you think? I think throwing the bad dream knuckle ball really set the standard for the rest of the story, at least I hope. In these next few chapters you'll also see Weiss really take charge in her temporary position (yay). **

**It's been quite a while since I updated, so I wanted to make a few comments:**

**D Hype: Thanks! My low self-esteem has been hitting hard lately. Every now and again it's not too bad, but for that one it was an overall bad day. **

**rwbybomb21: sorry. I'm going to try for some nice fluff here and there if it's any consolation. But so far the common consensus has been to stay away from the romance overall.**

**Now that all of that's out of the way, tell me what you think! Did it suck? Did I do good? Did I miss something (which I always do inevitably anyway.) Let me hear it!**

**Thanks for reading. Cataclysmic will be coming at the latest Wednesday night, and time permitting I'll throw out some more stories. **

**Until Next Time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry!**

**I know made a lot of promises, but things happened that were out of my control. The one day, nay the two days I thought I'd have for myself... Nope. Turns out no one wants that to happen. Then I got sick.**

**Oh boy, has this week just been a giant cluster fuck. **

**So, I have the Tenth Chapter of Amnesia. Most of this was made while I was sick, so keep in mind, it might be... A little hit or miss. Sorry. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The sun shone through the window, illuminating the room. A certain Blonde brawler was unlucky enough to be the first casualty to the sun's awakening lights.<p>

Yang sighed and sat up. She looked across and found that Ruby's bed was empty. 'Blake must be up already.' She thought to herself. Jumping down, she saw Weiss and Ruby, both asleep. Yang let out another small 'D'aww' sound at the sight.

It appeared that Ruby had been resting comfortably since the events earlier that morning; something Yang was gracious for. It was Sunday, which meant one more day before classes kicked back up. One more day to analyze Ruby a bit before being thrown back into schoolwork, which the entire team wasn't up for.

Not because they had gotten lazy, but because they weren't sure how their leader would be.

Ruby had been going over her old notes, but never once did any of them sit down with her to talk about them or their classes. This realization hit Yang and made her sigh. They had just blown off the last two days without even thinking about their classes next week. 'Oh well,' Yang thought.

Before she could continue her thought, the door began to open. Yang turned her attention to see Blake walk through, closing the door quietly. It didn't appear to Yang that Blake had noticed her, so the blonde put her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. When Blake turned around and saw Yang, she let out a small gasp.

"Oh, Yang..." She said, "When did you get up?"

"Just now." Yang replied, "How about you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Not too long ago, I don't think. I was just about to get a shower." Yang raised an eyebrow. "Ok, Pyrrha's loaning me her shampoo. I went to get it before taking my shower."

Yang gapped at her, "Is that how you make your hair-? Blake, you cheater!"

"It's not cheating!" Blake tried, "It's just... Getting the upper hand." She winked, which Yang returned a mock anger. "So, are the other two up yet?"

Yang shook her head, "Nope. I was actually about to wake them up."

Blake nodded. "Do it after I get my shower, ok?" Blake asked while picking up a change of clothes. Yang nodded and Blake disappeared into the bathroom. After a moment Yang heard the water running. She stood there, in between the two bunk beds and sighed. "What to do...?" She thought out loud. She looked up to her bunk and realized that Ruby's journal was still up there. "Woops."

She took it and put it down on the desk. "What're doing with my journal?"

Yang jumped back a little, surprised by the voice. She looked down and saw her sister, eyes barely open, starring at her. "I, uh- Well..." Yang decided it wasn't worth it. "Ah, never mind. How did you sleep?"

Ruby stretched out a bit, "Ok, I guess. It wasn't the greatest sleep in the world... but it was something." Yang sat next to her on the bed as Ruby began to sit up.

"You know, you really did give us a scare last night." Yang said, her tone turning serious, "Both Weiss and I didn't know where you went, let alone Blake. We're used to her doing that sometimes, but you..."

"I'm sorry, Yang. I just... I needed to clear my head, and-"

"Hey," Yang shushed, "It's ok. Just don't do it again." The sisters pulled each other in for an embrace before the bathroom door opened, allowing Blake to see the heartwarming sight.

"Aw, well isn't that cute?" The sisters turned and glanced at their faunus teammate, deciding not to pursue an argument. Yang waved her off and stood up. "I'm done in there, in case either of you we-"

She never got to finish her sentence before Yang rushed in, beating Ruby to the punch. "Aw." The younger whined. Blake chuckled, not nearly surprised. Yang was already up while Ruby had to fight with the bed to get there. Ruby knocked on the closed door, "You got lucky this once!" Maniacal laughing was heard from within but didn't seem to faze either teammate.

Blake glanced at Ruby, who had returned to her new bed. "How did you sleep up there?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, just fine, I suppose."

"Takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Blake smiled. She turned to the nightstand on the far side of her and Yang's bunks and picked up the bow. "How did you sleep?" She asked, putting the cloth on over her ears.

"I sleep fine." Ruby replied easily. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. After the early morning incident she tried to sleep, but was too afraid of going back to risk another nightmare. She slept very lightly to avoid further problems.

Blake nodded at the swift answer and sat on the opposite side of the bunk. "Do you want to talk about last night? Or are we going to save this until later?" Her voice was quiet, more of a whisper as not to disturb Weiss, "One way or another it's going to happen today. It just all depends on you."

Ruby nodded, looking back to her teammate, "Can we do it after breakfast? Or lunch? Or after we get any kind of food?"

Blake chuckled, swearing she could hear the younger's stomach growl with her question. "Ok, ok, we'll eat. I have a feeling that Yang would want food too." Ruby smiled and nodded.

Not a moment later did the aforementioned Blonde walk out of the bathroom, only a towel around her. "Yang!" Blake called, "Why don't you ever take spar clothes in there?!"

Yang waved her off, "Oh please, like anyone cares? We're all mature enough, I think. Do you care, Ruby?" The red clad girl shrugged, "See?"

"That doesn't count, Yang. You and Ruby are sisters, you're used to this!"

"Whatever." Yang said, beginning to change. Blake sighed, accepting the inevitability of the event. Ruby again shrugged, trying to figure out what the big deal was.

"Weiss can sleep through an earthquake, can't she?" Ruby asked. The rest of the conscious team looked over to the sleeping heiress, amazed that she was still asleep.

"You would be surprised." A voice called. The heiress rose from her bed, sitting up with a very bad expression on her face. The others either had a surprised look on their face or looked sheepishly towards the floor. "You are all very loud. If it wasn't early in the morning then I'd be in the right mind to chew you all out!"

"Eh... Sorry." Ruby apologized first, rubbing the back of her head and refusing to make eye contact with the heiress. Blake apologized next, leaving the brawler.

"I'm not." Yang said bluntly, "You needed to get up. You woke up last so you get the shower last."

"Wha- NO!" Weiss argued, "I'm getting now!"

"Weiss," Blake reminded, "Your going against our system. Ruby's turn, then yours. Go in order of who woke up first." Weiss looked, preparing to pull rank, but knew she wouldn't win. The other two clearly had Ruby's back.

It was probably for the best, too, as Weiss would have taken a long time.

Ruby picked up a change of clothes and entered the bathroom, leaving her teammates behind. "So," Blake started, "How did everyone sleep?"

"Do you really wanna know?" Weiss asked. Blake returned a nod, "I almost didn't sleep at all." Both Yang and Blake shot an expression, "Whoa. Let me explain. I was concerned for Ruby. If she was going to have another nightmare I wasn't going to let her leave."

Blake and Yang nodded, accepting the logic.

"Apparently Ruby didn't sleep well, either." Yang said, finally completing her attire, "She said she was afraid to go back to sleep. I guess she did, but it wasn't very deep."

"Better now than tomorrow. Hate to have her falling asleep on her first day back to class in almost a month."

"Yeah," Yang chuckled, "Got that one right, Weiss."

"We're going to get some breakfast, then Ruby agreed to a session." Blake said, picking up a book. "Weiss, I want you to hurry in the shower. I want to start on Ruby so badly."

Weiss put her hands up, telling Blake not to worry. Right after, the water stopped. After another minute, Ruby exited the bathroom full dressed. "You're up, Weiss."

"Hey!" Yang exclaimed, "You got her name right!" She earned a grimace from Ruby and an odd look from Blake. Weiss chose to ignore the comment and begin her shower. Blake and Yang we seated on Blake's... err, now Ruby's bed, while Ruby took a seat on Weiss' bed directly across from them. "So," The younger began, "How long do you think it'll take? I'm hungry."

"Me too!" Yang agreed, "I'd say... ten minutes."

"Wow, that long?" Ruby inquired in awe, "Does it normally take her that long?"

Blake and Yang both nodded, leaving Ruby to say 'wow' to herself. All the while the girls sat in silence, truly testing their own limits of sanity. Small talk would have been a thing to do, but it would have gotten old very quickly.

Thankfully, Yang's guess of ten minutes wasn't on point, and Weiss was out and dressed in half that time. "Are we ready?" She asked, hand on her hip. The rest of the team nodded and exited the dorm.

As they walked into the cafeteria, they spotted team JNPR, who had just sat down and began eating. Blake and Yang gestured to hold the empty spots at the table while they got their own food. The entirety of JNPR nodded, each one outstretching a leg to the other side, silently telling anyone that those spots were taken.

The team got their breakfast and sat down with their friends. All parties began expressing how their weekends had been going and what was going to be happening in their upcoming classes.

Pyrrha showed some concern for Ruby, but the young leader waved her off, saying she could handle it. All of team JNPR offered their support if needed, but the rest of Ruby's team informed them not to worry.

Breakfast went very fast for the team. They said their goodbyes to team JNPR and departed. Walking down the hall, the team began to idly banter about the upcoming week.

Ruby was looking forward to heading back to classes. She wanted to see how Beacon taught... Rather, she wanted to get back to her classes.. Uhg, this confused the young girl.

Eventually they returned back to their dorm. Ruby threw herself onto her new bed. The rest of the team walked in. Weiss turned to her notes, Yang plopped herself down next to her sister, all the while talking to Blake, who pulled the chair from the desk in between the two bunk beds. Ruby wasn't paying much attention to what they were talking about, up until Yang pulled her up to a sitting position.

"Whoa!" Ruby called, "If you wanted me to sit up, you should've just asked."

"I did." Yang smiled, ruffling Ruby's hair. Ruby blushed, realizing now what was happening. "Weiss, want to get in on this?"

The heiress looked over to her team and closed her book, "Team effort, right?" The brunette faunus nodded, "Eh, why not?" She sat down next to Yang. Blake picked up her psychology book, and pulled her chair closer to Ruby.

"Are you ready?"

"No." The red clad girl put bluntly.

Blake chuckled, "Sorry, but this has to be done." She cleared her throat, "Right now I just want you to tell us about last night: The nightmare, everything you remember, even your actions after you woke up."

Yang took Ruby's left hand, "If you start crushing my hand here, we're stopping on the spot." The brawler put. Blake agreed and gestured to Ruby.

"Ok..." Ruby began, sighing tentatively, "Here goes... I went to sleep, and I... I don't know how long it was until I actually fell asleep, you know?" Blake nodded in understanding, "I- Eventually I found myself out in a field somewhere... No, not somewhere." She turned to Yang, "It was mom's grave..."

The blonde brawler's look hardened, but she nodded, "After a while of just staring at the grave, I got up. I had heard a noise coming from behind me... In the forest, but there was nothing there. When I turned back to the grave... I saw... I-" She stuttered, her gaze drifting.

"Ruby?" Blake inquired, "What did you see?"

"I saw her. Mom." The young girl replied. Yang kept a grip on Ruby's hand, which currently wasn't even tightening in grip. This was a dream that Ruby has had before. They were used to it. At least, that part of it.

"I called to her, but she didn't respond." Weiss bit her tongue. At this point in the dream, Ruby was beginning to talk in her sleep. Weiss had been woken up, but when she didn't hear anything else, she passed it off as nothing. Now she knew what she heard, and she felt like a fool. "She didn't vocally respond, but she did turn around and faced me. She extended her hand, beckoning me..." She paused...

"What happened next?"

"I think I might know..." Yang said, stopping Ruby from continuing, much to the younger girls joy, "You answered her silent call, chased after her and went right through her ghost, falling into the void below."

Ruby nodded, not looking up. Blake turned to the eldest sister, "This is a dream that's happened before, I see."

Yang nodded slowly and solemnly. "It's not my first rodeo here."

Blake accepted the response and gestured for Ruby to continue, "Right... After falling for... I- I don't even know how long, I found myself on a train. It was in motion, in a tunnel." Blake sat back in her chair and shared a glance with Yang and Weiss, both shared the same worried expression, "I- It... What's that thing, where you can see yourself as your doing something... But you are basically a ghost in a dream?"

"Out of body experience?"

"Yes!" Ruby said, thanking Weiss, "I had an out of body experience on the train."

"And?"

This is where Ruby began to clutch Yang's hand. "I... My... Whatever that was, down there... It wasn't me..." Blake turned to her, confused, "I was... inhuman. I didn't show emotion I didn't care... I just... Did."

"I see." Blake said, leaning back in her chair. "And then you woke up, got a drink, couldn't get back to sleep and went to clear your head, right?" Ruby nodded. "Hm. I think we found the problem." All three turned to Blake, "I have a feeling that your dream was your mind doing one or two things: Either telling you why you forgot, or telling you that you're trying to remember."

Ruby nodded slowly, "So, what can I do?"

"I- I don't know." The faunus replied, "All we can do for right now is keep this up. Every day, either before or after classes, you and I will sent down and we'll talk. We'll try and see what we can get out of this, ok?"

Ruby nodded, happy with the conclusion. "Good. Now," She clapped her hands together, "What else do we have planned for this Sunday?"

* * *

><p>Nothing.<p>

Absolutely nothing.

Team RWBY had nothing planned for that day. Blake was continuing her psychology studies in the library, also consulting Professor Goodwitch every now and again to see what she thought. They came to a few conclusions on more permanent solutions: Hypnotism and an elixir that Professor Peach was creating that might help. Either would be more helpful than just talking.

Yang and Pyrrha decided to head down and spar, leaving Weiss and Ruby alone. Weiss decided to take this opportunity and prepare Ruby for classes tomorrow.

Ruby agreed that if she was going back, she would need help. "Great," Weiss said, "We all have jobs, then! Blake will help you with your dreams, I will help with school and Yang can punch stuff."

Ruby cracked up, "That's all she ever gets to do."

Weiss waved her off, "Well, she is good at it." Ruby agreed. "So, where do we want to start?"

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, most of that was made while I was sick. <strong>

**Another thing that happened, and you'll enjoy this: I deleted the entire next chapter of cataclysmic, under the impression that I didn't need it anymore. And I can't get it back either! Yay!**

**Guess who isn't aloud near a computer while off his ass on meds? This guy! **

**Anyway, frustrations of time constraints aside, how was it? I may have botched a few parts up, but at least we've gotten through with it! Next chapter the team will be back to classes, and frustration will mount. With whom is for me to know and you to find out whenever I have time to write it out. **

**For now, tell me how I did. I love hearing feedback, positive and negative. I understand if you're a little under impressed with this chapter, I kind of am too. Oh well.**

**Until Next Time.**


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